NFL Considering Scab Owners and Other Points of View

Bears

“There’s not many perfect fits for that three-technique for Chicago but you could see maybe a Corey Liuget out of Illinois. I’ve got him going 14th to the Rams but after the Rams, there’s not many teams looking for a true defensive tackle. I personally think he’d be a better fit as a nose tackle in a 4-3…[but] if he’s there at 29 you’d have to think long and hard about passing on a guy like Liuget.”

“Most of our guys … they are smaller receivers, so to have a little bit of a different flavor wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

  • Omar Kelly at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has posted this interesting video of Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano talking about finding an NFL center.  He’s talking about moving guard Richie Incognito to the position.  Many believe that the Bears are looking for someone to either replace or groom behind Olin Kreutz:

  • Bob Sturm at the Dallas Morning News points to this video which demonstrates why he thinks offensive tackle Nick Solder is overrated.  Most experts believe that the Bears would take Solder if he fell to them.  This is not a flattering picture of a guy who was flat out dominated by a smaller, quicker man.

Elsewhere

  • Tom Pelissero at 1500ESPN.com in Minnesota adds up the clues and comes to the conclusion that the Vikings may be looking to trade up and take a run at Blaine Gabbert.
  • Elizabeth Merrill at ESPN profiles Gabbert.  I know that there are no character concerns for him but there’s something off when a guy has had a personal trainer simce the eighth grade.  I don’t want to make too big a deal of it but it hardly sounds like a normal upbringing.  I hope we aren’t talking about  Todd Marinovich.
  • Drew Sharp at the Detroit Free Press tries to convince us that the lockout will hurt the Lions “far worse” than most teams.  The Lions have a stable coaching staff with no scheme changes.
  • Chris McCosky at The Detroit News quotes Lions head coach Jim Schwartz on Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith:

“I learned a long time ago that you can’t judge a guy on a quote, on what a guy said or what you heard that he said.  If you don’t know the guy, you can’t judge him.”

Smith has four failed drug tests.  I don’t think this is a case of “he said, she said”.

  • Schwartz and Tom Kowalski at mlive.com are still trying to find a way to twist poor coaching and Calvin Johnson‘s error into a catch.  These guys need to get together with Bob Costas and get it all out by throwing a pity party and having a good group cry.  I was at Missouri during the fifth down controversy and even we didn’t whine this much for this long with a lot more justification.
  • Vic Carucci at NFL.com has Bear fans weeping over the idea that the lockout as put a wet blanket on the Green Bay victory celebration.
  • Seifert makes the case that the Packers  might have a need at wide receiver.  Could be but I would still put it no higher than fourth on the list.
  • Kendrick Ellis appears to be the latest beneficiary of the constant need to nose tackles for the 3-4.  Via Aaron Wilson at The National Football Post.
  • Johnny Jolly we hardly knew ye.
  • Armando Salguero at the Miami Herald writes that Dolphins owner Steven Ross has told Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland that they don’t have to win now and that they have guaranteed job security.  So basically they’re dead men walking.
  • Former NFL safety Matt Bowen at The National Football Postcomes out strongly against HGH testing because it requires drawing blood.  But I’m pretty sure players have to give blood already for AIDS testing.  Fear is almost certainly what is stopping testing for growth hormone.   But I doubt its fear of a needle.
  • Bowen also points out that rookies will be behind due to the lockout for a number of reasons including lack of a playbook.  Though he has a point, most rookies will almost certainly find a veteran to help them out with these issues.
  • The Charlotte Observer got beat writers for the top 5 teams in the draft to do a mock draft.  Its a neat concept that I’d like to see done for the entire first round.
  • Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer does a comparison of the top two wide receivers in the draft.  A.J. Green is a possibility for the Bengals but that fourth pick would be awfully high for Julio Jones.
  • I’m way behind on my videos. The Seattle Seahawks are on the clock at ESPN:

  • So are the Saints:

  • and the Eagles:

  • and the Colts:

  • and finally the Chiefs:

“If you polled the entire league, I would guess the opinions are split on (Auburn QB) Cam Newton. Anyone that really knows the kid and did their homework will have him down on their board. We had him at the very top of our board before the Combine. He’s got talent — you have to give it to him. But I wouldn’t think about him until the end of the first (round), and even there, I’m not sure I’d want him. Now it’s a little different when you’re in the hunt for a quarterback. We got a good one. … I just think you’re asking for too much trouble with a guy like him. It’s just like Vince Young — all the warning signs were there. The lower (Newton) goes, the better his chances will be.”

and on a related note:

“What do you think the hit ratio is on one-year wonders in the first round. We did the study over five years. It’s not very good. What’s scary is how many of them there are in this year’s draft. I would not touch either of the two at Auburn that everyone is talking about. I hope they go early so that some good players fall to us.”

I’m on the fence about Nick Fairley but I’ll say out right that Newton in the top ten is a boat load of bust waiting to happen.  Both of these guys seem to me to have potential football character issues.

“Trading down is an option that I am sure they would love. I also here of several other teams that would love to move down, too – Washington for sure. So, you need a partner. That is why we look at 2 particular positions – QB and WR. Here is why you want those guys taken at 1-8 (Gabbart, Newton, Green, and Jones) – so that the good DE/OL/DT prospects get to you at #9. Here is why you DONT want them to be taken at 1-8 – so you have teams calling you to move up and snag them. This is the draft day chess game that the Cowboys have to play and have to play right.”

“(Georgia OLB) Justin Houston is very talented, but he could be the next Vernon Gholston. It’s scary, but he shuts it down way too much. He’s one of the draft’s great magicians. He can disappear with the best of them.”

  • Shocking news from the The Onion which is reporting that NFL is considering hiring replacement owners for the 2011 season.
  • And The Sports Pickle has obtained an official proposal for rules changes from the NFL Kickers Association.  Amongst the suggestions is the elimination of tackling on kickoffs to avoid injuries (i.e. humiliation, embarrassment and emasculation).
  • After paying a 16 year old girl for sex, former New York Giant Lawrence Taylor got sentenced to 6 years probation and to a lifetime of humiliating jokes and laughter from this blogger a total stranger who occasionally breaks in and hijacks my keyboard.  In Lithuania.

One Final Thought

The fifth Season of Mad Men looks like it will be delayed to 2012 as executives from AMC and Lionsgate Studio can’t agree on who gets more of the lucrative amounts of money that the show brings in.  Suddenly I have the urge to show DeMaurice Smith a picture of January Jones, wait about 30 seconds and then kick him in the balloons…

    Quo Vadis Chris Williams

    Bob LeGere at the Daily Herald asks the key question as the NFL Draft and (hopefully) free agency approaches:  “Where will Chris Williams play?”

    The Beas will almost certainly pick up at least one good offensive lineman who they will be expected to compete to start right away.  If the Bears pick up a good tackle, Williams will be at guard.  If its a good interior lineman, he will be at tackle.

    Williams is probably a better right tackle than a guard but where ever he ends up, here’s hoping the Bears put him there and keep him there.  He’ll never develop if they continue to shuffle him around.

    About Looking for Offensive Tackles Over Guards in Early Rounds

    According to Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice worked out Arkansas offensive tackle DeMarcus Love.  Love is expected to go anywhere from rounds three to five.  The article also had this nugget in it:

    “[Bears general manager Jerry] Angelo mentioned [earlier this week] how teams typically have to invest a higher pick in a tackle while finding help at guard or center in later rounds.”

    I’m not a big fan of this attitude.  I understand the tendency to take tackles earlier in part because they can become interior linemen if they don’t workout.  But if the help that Steve Hutchinson brought to the Vikings offensive line taught us anything its that general managers need to stop under appreciating the position.  Though many still subscribe to it, that old saw about finding good guards later in the draft is out dated.

    If a good tackle that Angelo really likes falls to them, then they should take him, of course.  But at the end of the first round I think you are more likely to see an undervalued guard like Danny Watkins out of Baylor and generally speaking I’d rather have that than an overrated tackle.

    NFL Sends Inconsistent Signals with Recent Rule Change and Other Points of View

    Bears

    “One thing Phillips said on the issue [of the grass playing surface at Soldier Field], however, sounds like an utter crock: ‘The players know how to play on it, and frankly, it’s been part of our home-field advantage.’ The Bears players rip it as much or more than opponents do. They don’t like it and don’t sound confident on that kitty-litter. And I wouldn’t be talking home-field advantage if I just lost the NFC Championship Game at home.”

    • Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times points out the the NFL chose what head coach Lovie Smith considered to be the worst possible option for the kickoff rules:

    “’The part that we’re not OK with is moving the ball up to the 35-yard line,’ Smith said. ‘The rest of it, we could live with.’

    “Much to Smith’s chagrin, the NFL voted to move the kickoff yard line from the 30 to the 35 and opted to keep two-man wedges and touchbacks at the 20-yard line.”

    “Other owners and their representatives crowed about McCaskey’s speech, which is what you do when you want to keep the sucker at the poker table — praise his play. But if McCaskey wasn’t so worried about his speech, then maybe he would’ve shown some clout to round up enough votes to block the new kickoff rule.

    But no. The Bears were unable to prevent the NFL from minimizing the league’s most dangerous return game. The Steelers, meanwhile, with one of the hardest-hitting defense, made sure that proposals regarding hits on defenseless players didn’t pass. Some teams have clout, apparently. Some teams have Fredo McCaskey.”

    • Jensen also writes of Bears president Phillips’ confidence that the team is in good shape headed into a lockout:

    “I think it’s huge,” Phillips said when asked about his team’s continuity, “and with the labor uncertainty we have now, that’s why we’ve preached, internally, to cover all bases and be ready because you never know when the deal is going to get done.

    “We’re going to have a competitive edge.”

    • Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune quoting Smith on the criticism of the Bears for announcing quarterback Jay Cutler‘s return as “questionable” after his injury in the NFC Championship game:

    “We can’t worry about the criticism.  We’re trying to win a football game. … What were we supposed to do? We’re behind, trying to win the biggest game in the history of our franchise. Let’s worry about what everybody is thinking about our quarterback? That’s the last thing.”

    • It also sounds like Pompei has a suspicion the Bears might be drafting interior offensive linemen rather than tackles as he answers questions from fans:

    Are the Bears really considering Florida’s center Mike Pouncey with their first pick in the draft? I think it’s more than time to bring on Olin Kreutz successor, don’t you? And, would the Bears trade up to draft him? — Walter Brzeski, Chicago

    If they aren’t, they should be. The Bears might need help on their interior offensive line more than they need help at the tackle position. Within two years, they might need three new starters at left guard, right guard and center. Pouncey could start out this year as the left guard, and then move inside to center when Kreutz moves on (assuming Kreutz is re-signed). The problem is Pouncey probably won’t be on the board when the Bears pick at No. 29. Trading up is a possibility, but it would come with drawbacks. The Bears have had a deficit of high draft picks over the last two years because of trades. Giving away two high draft picks for one good prospect in this scenario might not make good sense.

    I agree 100% both because I think the guard and center positions are a need and because the draft probably will fall such that it will make the most sense for the Bears to go that way.  But what they do will probably depend mostly upon how they feel about the fourth or fifth tackle prospects as opposed to their second guard prospect, though.  And the defensive linemen available will factor in as well.

    • Smith’s comments about the backup situation at guard would seem to validate Pompei’s opinion.  Smith doesn’t sound happy about their play last year.  Via Michael C. Wright at ESPNChicago.com:

    “If you just be a team player, eventually, you’re gonna really get a chance to prove whether you can play or not, and you need to take advantage of your opportunity.  Lance [Louis] hasn’t taken advantage of his opportunity. Edwin [Williams] did not take advantage of his opportunity, or hasn’t taken advantage of the opportunity yet. We still like those guys. They’re young players that are in the system.”

    “Overall, Sherrod will eventually become a winning left tackle in the league. Some teams may start him off on the right side while he gains experience but he has the traits to play on the left side. The more tape I watched of this player the more I liked him. He has range and athleticism to go along with long arms…all traits needed to become an effective left tackle in the league.”

    “There isn’t a prejudiced bone in our bodies or my dad’s body,” Ryan said, including twin brother and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. “That’s why I know it’s crazy.”

    “‘We didn’t come out and check the body or nothing like that, but he’s fine,’ Smith said. ‘I talked to Jay just before he went on his trip to Africa. His spirits are high, in a good mood, you know. [He’s] excited about everything.”

    Cutler’s had a rough month or two and its nice to know they were talking to him.

    • There aren’t many matchups Julius Peppers can’t win but this is one of them.
    • The Bears website is featuring a quick 4 minute feature on general manager Jerry Angelo and the NFL draft.  Most of the footage appears to be from last year but its still pretty good:

    Elsewhere

    • To no one’s surprise, Bengals owner Mike Brown isn’t backing down on his refusal of quarterback Carson Palmer‘s request for a trade.  Palmer is threatening to retire. Via Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

    “I haven’t talked to any other team about him and I have no plans to trade him.”

    Brown’s problem goes well beyond the quarterback.  If he gives in on Palmer there might be a line of players behind him.

    • Most Bear fans have one hope as regards the future prospects of the very young and talented Green Bay Packer team.    That is that they handle success in the same way that the Bears handled it after their Super Bowl run in 2006 – poorly.  However it seems that head coach Mike McCarthy is more aware of the problem that Lovie Smith apparently was.  Via Rob Demovsky at the Green Bay Press Gazzette:

    “’We’ve achieved team success at the highest level, and I’m a big believer that every level you hit brings new devils,’ McCarthy said. ‘Definitely, there will be some new challenges that come with winning the Super Bowl. We’re anticipating it. It’s something we’ll talk about and keep in the forefront as a football team because to me, that’s where I’ve seen failure.'”

    “I think our division is extremely competitive … It’s very competitive. We were 4-2 in our division games, and we strive to do better than that, and we’re going to need to do better than that. I think our division, we spend a lot of time on division games, I’d put our division up against anybody’s. It’s competitive as hell.”

    • NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert at ESPN quotes Lions head coach  Jim Schwartz on how they are monitoring the rehab of quarterback Matthew Stafford during the lockout.  There isn’t supposed to be any contact between the organization and the players during this time:

    “Our trainers are in communication not with the players but the people who are doing their rehab… We can’t supervise, but we can communicate with the people who supervise. So you have an idea. And you know they’re at professional places.”

    “It’s hard to say (it was a wasted year).  I think sometimes setbacks are set-ups for better things in the future. Sometimes your best lessons come from tough times. I think I’m a better coach today with that experience. Not the record, but I think it made me better as a coach.”

    “From my vantage point I couldn’t quite see whether Pete Carroll wore a cat-ate-the-canary look on his face when he heard the question. But when a Philadelphia-based reporter inquired whether his Seahawks have had conversations with the Eagles regarding a trade for quarterback Kevin Kolb, you could almost hear Carroll’s brain whirling as he very carefully chose his words.

    “‘There’s no conversations going on,’ said Carroll, perhaps notably dropping into present tense. ‘Not what you want. I talk to [Eagles head coach] Andy [Reid] a lot. I like Andy a lot.”’

    Translation:  Carroll is determined to overpay for Kolb and make the Eagles an even better team for years to come by giving them multiple high round draft picks.

    • Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant ejected from mall in Dallas for the high crime of wearing droopy pants.  He didn’t take it well.

    One Final Thought

    Jensen again on the kickoff rule change:

    “Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, insisted player safety superseded any other points.”

    Except that it didn’t.  All NFL plays are dangerous.  This one might or might not exceed the standard of what’s too risky and what isn’t.  But one thing is clear.  If – and its a big “if” – the play actually is too dangerous and if player safety really does supersede all other points, it should have been eliminated.

    The truth of the matter is that this was a war between player safety and the money that comes from highlights of exciting kickoff returns.  So we are left with half measures as fans are sent a mixed message.  As a result the whole thing sounds more like an effort to make it look like the league is protecting the players than one to actually go all out and do it.

    This was a poor decision all around.

    Smith’s Comments Lead to Speculation about the Look of the Bears Offensive Line in 2011

    Dan Pompei summarized Bears head coach Lovie Smith‘s comments on the plan for the offensive line this coming year for the Chicago Tribune:

    “He said he has an idea of how he would like the offensive line to set up, but how it shakes out is dependent on additions. Smith said he believes [J’Marcus] Webb, who played right tackle as a rookie, has the physical ability to play left tackle. He was noncommittal about where Chris Williams would play, but he would like the former first-round pick, who has played three positions, to lock into one.”

    This isn’t much to go on but its March.  That makes it speculation season.  If Smith really likes Webb at left tackle then the situation on the outside becomes a bit clearer and we might be able to make some guesses about what’s going to happen here.

    The Bears will likely have a guard available to them in the draft.  Guards tend to be undervalued in the top rounds because teams still figure they can pick them up later.  In the first round they’d probably ideally Florida center/guard Mike Pouncey to fall to them.  Baylor guard Danny Watkins is more likely to be there and he’s a good possibility.

    If the Bears take an interior lineman they probably either put him at center (Pouncey) or put him at guard to compete.  Sadly, this may mean letting center Olin Kreutz leave via free agency, particularly if Pouncey is their guy.  If a really good offensive tackle were to fall to them (unlikely) then Kreutz stays.  But an interior offensive lineman might spell the end for him with the Bears.

    This would be a blow as Kreutz is a leader who brings an attitude which the team reflects.  But Kreutz’s play has been deteriorating and he’s never been good at handling big men over center.  The Bears have had to make adjustments in the way the line plays, often pulling him, to accommodate his deficiencies.  I’m afraid his days with the team have been numbered for a few years now.

    This leaves us to speculate about Chris Williams.  The fact that the Bears haven’t settled on a position for him probably means its going to depend upon who they draft.  If the Bears draft a tackle, he probably competes at guard.  If its an interior lineman then he’s at right tackle.  Probably they would prefer the latter with Frank Omiyale also competing to start at tackle on either side.

    Let’s assume that the Bears pick up an interior lineman.  We are left with:

    Webb, Williams, Omiyale competing at tackle
    Lance Louis, Edwin Williams, Roberto Garza/possible draftee competing at guard
    Garza/possible draftee at center

    If its a tackle we have:

    Webb, Omiyale, draftee competing at tackle
    C. Williams, Louis, E. Williams, Garza competing at guard
    Kreutz or Garza at center

    If the draft doesn’t yield a good offensive lineman somewhere at the top of the draft then the Bears sign at least one (hopefully high quality) free agent and the above situations still apply.  Indeed, they may do that regardless of who they draft.

    Still not very specific but a plan and there are certainly potential variations but, nevertheless, something similar to this leaves the team flexible with numerous possibilities to keep in the back of our heads going into the NFL draft.

    The Challenge for George McCaskey

    Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune writes about the succession of leadership at Halas Hall.  Michael McCaskey is stepping down and being replaced as chairmen of the board by his brother George McCaskey.  Here’s the quote that caught my eye:

    “George is expected to have a somewhat different style from Michael, but he is not expected to be dabbling in football decisions.

    “‘I’ve given a lot of thought to how to do the job,’ George said. ‘I’ve got three chairmen as predecessors with vastly different styles. One of the things I’m thinking a lot about is how to be informed and involved without interfering.'”

    That’s certainly the right attitude.  But it won’t be easy.

    Fans piss and moan and magazines like Forbes pick at the Bears finances.  But as far as I’m concerned, Bears ownership has been generally good for the fans since the 90s when Michael was kicked up stairs from team president to chairman by his mother Virginia McCaskey.

    The McCaskeys supply the necessary support, monetary and otherwise.  And they have spent money.  But generally speaking, I’m convinced that they’ve left the football operations to football people.  No matter what anyone says about general manager Jerry Angelo, every reasonable person can agree that they’d rather have him making those decisions.

    George McCaskey has a challenge on his hands.  Until now Bears ownership has been very low key, staying as far behind the scenes as possible.  That has its good points but it leaves the impression that they are hiding from the fans rather than working for their benefit.  So the guess here is that when Pompei says that “George is expected to have a somewhat different style from Michael”, I think it may mean that he will be more of a public face of the franchise.  I would speculate that he’ll do more interviews and generally be more visible.  But how do you do that without exerting undue influence on football matters through your public comments?

    Whether McCaskey successfully achieves the proper balance or not, one thing is certain.  At least he has the right idea going in.

    Mike Singletary is a Parent Who Knows How to Do It and Other Points of View

    Bears

    • Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei conducted a wide ranging interview with Bears president Ted Phillips.  Phillips told him that the team expects to be able to spend money on free agents when the labor stoppage ends.  We’ll see if that’s still the case if game (and substantial revenue) are lost.
    • Phillips also described what I would consider to be a reasonable attitude toward the new rule changes with respect to kickoff returns:

    “There are some aspects to the proposal, including the elimination of the two-man wedge and having all the players except the kicker no more than 5 yards behind the ball, that would be more acceptable than moving the kickoff to the 35.”

    Bottom line, the Bears don’t mind making kickoff returns safer.  But they see no reason to cut down on the number of them.  I’ve got a feeling that the Bears won’t be alone in that attitude.

    Phillips admitted members of the organization “really haven’t talked to him.”

    “Maybe some of the coaches did,” Phillips said. “Now, with the work stoppage, we can’t talk to him. But when the time comes, we’ll sit down with him and see how things are going.”

    With months of offseason ahead with no contact, let’s hope that someone did talk to him.

    Asked if the Bears would consider trading [quarterback Jay] Cutler, Phillips said, “I mean, no one is untradeable. But we couldn’t be happier with Jay as our QB. He’s our guy. Our organization has never wavered in saying, ‘Jay’s our quarterback, and we’re excited to have him.’”

    The last time someone told Cutler that he wasn’t untradeable, he was headed out of town.  Let’s hope he reacts better in his current environment.

    • And Charles Barley is showing up Dez Clark on the golf course:

    Elsewhere

    “I think we’ve got good people that are going to help them [in] their fundamentals and get them from a technique standpoint. But I’ve got to feel good that they’ve got the leadership qualities and can mesh with some of my thoughts on the quarterback position. My one-on-one time with them, and just being around them is as important to me as what they can do from a pro day or workouts.”

    “Good athletes at quarterback don’t always become franchise quarterbacks. For us, we’re looking and hoping to find a franchise quarterback. For us, that’s what we’re looking to find. So my time with him is as important or more important than what we see on tape.”

    Always assuming that Frazier actually means what he says, I would agree with Seifert in that I think these comments might be significant in terms of the Vikings attitude towards Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.  In fact, I’d take it further and say that even in the seemingly unlikely event that Newton were to fall to them, they very well might not take him.

    • Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com makes a good point I hadn’t thought of.  H addresses the problems that coaches like Frazier have when it comes to dealing with players who get themselves in trouble during the lockout.  The Vikings have had two incidences, one involving the arrest of cornerback Chris Cook and the other with running back Adrian Peterson comparing the NFL to “modern-day slavery”:

    “’Adrian is a great kid, as you guys know,’ Frazier told reporters Sunday while arriving at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans for league meetings.  ‘This is a time where not being able to communicate with the players — it’s hard to form an opinion. . . .  So, you kind of reserve judgment on everything that you see right now . . . all the information that you’re getting is through the media.’”

    “Future draft picks, beyond 2011, also can be traded.  But an ominous caveat comes from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

    “Per Mort, the league has advised teams that any trades of draft picks beyond 2011 will occur ‘at [their] own risk.’

    “In other words, there may not be a draft in 2012.”

    “Our Rams sources believe it certainly wouldn’t hurt to at least look into adding veteran WRs Plaxico Burress, who has been in prison the last couple of years, and Randy Moss, who played under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in New England. ‘But there are obvious issues with both of them,’ said one team insider. ‘Unlike Michael Vick, who was 28 (nearly 29) when he got out of prison, Burress will be 34 years old (in August). Moss is a bit more intriguing, but it really does seem like he’s no longer a difference maker. He didn’t do anything with the Titans.'”

    “Another factor that has made evaluations difficult is the prevalence of spread offenses in college. With the spread, teams typically don’t see as many one-on-one matchups or throwing downfield.

    “Said [Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin] Coyle about the evaluation process: ‘The first thing is, can he stay with the receivers and be physical? Does he have the change of direction and able to stay tight on routes? Can they come out of their breaks and explode? You really have to search as you study the tapes. You might go through a game and see only three or four plays.'”

    • The Baltimore Ravens are on the clock at ESPN:

    “The guys in the locker room call me the cheapest guy around,” Pitts said with a laugh, “but you have to be wise with your money. You can live a great life and still be careful and still be smart.

    “I tell guys, ‘Why do you need that $250,000 car? A Mercedes is a great car, and it’s $85,000. You can afford that on your salary, and what’s that ($250,000) car going to do for you?’ “

    [Insert your comment about the NFL labor stoppage here].

    One Final Thought

    Mike Singletary talks: Bob Sansevere at the St. Paul Pioneer Press listens:

    “I think my kids have seen the eyes. They know the look: ‘OK, Daddy is serious.'”

    I can only imagine.

    Conflicting Comments Make Bears Draft Philosophy Puzzling

    As I’ve said, the Dan Pompei interview with Bears president Ted Phillips is providing a lot of food for thought.  Here’s an answer that caught my eye:

    “How do you feel about the criticism [general manager Jerry Angelo] sometimes gets?

    “Personnel is not an exact science. It takes a little luck. He’d be the first one to tell you we need to do a better job in the early rounds (of the draft), and we do. The flip of that is he’s done a really nice job of finding key players in later rounds and through trades and free agency.”

    Sounds reasonable and its more or less true.  But consider this comment made by Angelo to Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times at the Combine last month.  Hayes asked if there were going to be any changes to the draft philosophy this year:

    “”It’s not nuclear Neil. It’s the same. We’ll do some things a little bit differently, we had a change, we looked at the bottom part of the draft and how we wanted to evaluate it differently this year so we made some changes that way… But nothing.”

    Phillips says (and I agree) that the Bears success in the draft has been in the later rounds.  So Angelo has apparently decided that’s the part of the draft process that needs to be changed.

    Am I missing something here?

    Sometimes Its the Smallest Comments That Are the Most Meaningful

    We spend a lot of time reading between the lines in newspaper reports when writing for this blog.  That’s especially true during the offseason when news gets a bit more scarce.  So not surprisingly, Dan Pompei‘s interview with Bears President Ted Phillips for the Chicago Tribune provided us with plenty of fodder to go under the microscope.

    Sometimes what appear to be little throw in comments tend to get lost in interviews like Pompei’s.  For this post I’d like to highlight one at the end of this answer:

    “Was there any thought to extending general manager Jerry Angelo‘s contract?

    “He is signed through 2013, which puts him on the same time frame as [head coach] Lovie [Smith]. With three years to go, that’s premature. But he feels total support from the organization, as he should. I’ve been happy with the job he’s done, and I love how he and Lovie get along.”

    I like Angelo and as GM’s go the Bears could certainly do worse.  But, as anyone who reads this blog knows, that doesn’t mean I’m always his biggest backer.  That’s why this comment gave me some pleasure.

    If there is one critical thing Angelo has going for him its his ability to work effectively with everyone up and down the organization.  Its far from the only necessary thing but it is the first necessary thing if you are going to get things done.  Angelo is a consensus builder and “getting along” with Smith – and everyone else – in an environment where opinions are like [rear end]-holes can’t be easy.

    I like the fact that Phillips thought it necessary to bring this up out of nowhere at the end this question.  It shows that its on his mind and, because Pompei didn’t specifically ask him about it, it makes it less likely that its just a politically correct answer given for public consumption without the ring of truth.

    I won’t say that it means the organization is healthy.  But it is a good sign that if its not the potential to be so is still there.  Without a good relationship with Lovie Smith, Angelo’s job is hopeless.

    Draft Strategy Around the League and Other Points of View

    Bears

    • Pat Kirwan at NFL.com doesn’t think the Bears are going to be filling their needs along the line of scrimmage in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.  He has them picking Texas cornerback Aaron Williams in the first round and Boise State wide receiver Titus Young in the second round.
    • Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune writes a profile of Matthew Smith, who is Bears head coach Lovie Smith‘s son and his agent:

    “It’s valid if you disagree with a particular play call, but to say my dad is dumb because he doesn’t do what you do in a situation, that’s what gets my blood boiling.  Nobody gets to my dad’s position being dumb. My dad is very, very smart.”

    • The Tribune‘s Brad Biggs makes the point that the Bears, who have excellent special teams, will be hurt by the new kickoff rules which are being proposed by the Competition Committee.
    • The Bears are lucky in some respects.  Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post thinks its a good year to need a corner in the draft.
    • Bear fans who are still hurting from the Chris Williams fiasco won’t be too happy to hear that Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi has knee problems.  Many mock drafts have the Bears taking Carmi in the first round.  Via Dan Pompei writing for The National Football Post.

    Elsewhere

    • Sad news as doctors have discovered that NFL Films president Steve Sabol has a tumor on the left side of his brain.
    • ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert answers your questions.  Here’s a really good one:

    “Andy of Chicago writes: Much has been made about the Packers’ roster depth. Along with the 53 they had at the end of the season, they could return as many as 15 players from IR and perhaps Johnny Jolly from suspension. Throw in another 8 or 9 draft picks, and those first-year gems that Ted Thompson seems to find outside of the draft before the season (Sam Shields, Frank Zombo, Ryan Grant, etc.) and that’s a lot of bodies in camp. Figuring they’ll probably lose 7 or so players to free agency, do you think Thompson might change his strategy and package picks in the draft to prioritize quality over quantity, i.e., move up on the board?”

    Seifert:

    “If the Packers think (Texas A&M linebacker Von) Miller is as good as media analysts suggest, would it be worth them to trade multiple picks to get into the top 5 and draft him? The idea would be that any players the Packers take on the second and third days of the draft are going to have a hard time making their roster.

    “It makes some sense, but I it would require a significant departure from the way Thompson has built the team in the first place. I think the chances of him staying course — adding more and more talent on annual basis — are much higher than a one-time philosophical shift.”

    “I think that guy is going to be a great player.

    “You can’t win without one, and trust me, when I lost them, I got fired.”

    “I can teach a guy to get up under center.  But I can’t teach a guy to throw. He has a tremendous arm, and I think he’s going to be really effective no matter what he was doing in college.”

    “The concept of trading for next year’s picks value wise is pretty good.  Generally speaking, if you can bump up a round, that’s pretty good value.”

    “General manager Martin Mayhew has long championed taking the best player — within reason. For instance, the Lions won’t take a quarterback in the first round.

    “But if that yields an offensive lineman as most mock drafts suggest, the Lions could be left with the same gaping holes at linebacker and defensive back they finished with last season.”

    “A number of coaches throughout the NFL have been turned off by the overall way Missouri QB Blaine Gabbert has handled himself this post-season. They did not like the fact he didn’t workout at the NFL Combine and cited his overall demeanor and body language as turnoffs. The more info I gather on Gabbert the less I feel like he’s being endorsed as a high first round pick. He could end up being the one quarterback to slide a lot further than many think come April.”

    • Well, the Packers didn’t lose defensive coordinator Dom Capers as I’d hoped they would after he did such an excellent job in 2010.  But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a significant shake up in the Green Bay staff.  Pro Football Weekly‘s Dan Arkush reports:

    “But team insiders believe [new wide receivers coach Edgar] Bennett, in particular, will have a very tough act to follow in Jimmy Robinson, who left for a position on Jason Garrett‘s staff in Dallas. Robinson, who commanded great respect as a former NFL receiver, is widely considered to be the best WR coach in the business. While Bennett could not be more eager to prove himself in his new role, the consensus seems to be that he definitely will have his work cut out for him.”

    • Can’t imagine Staley doing this.  And I don’t want to:

    One Final Thought

    Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan at the Tribune quote Bears linebacker Lance Briggs on the departure of defensive tackle Tommie Harris:

    “We know the business and we know that one day we all won’t be together.  It was tough to see Alex (Brown) go last year, and now it is tough to see that Tommie is not going to be there in the locker room and sharing laughs. I have been in Chicago ever since Tommie was drafted, and we developed a relationship on and off the field. That’s how football players grow, being able to trust that man next to you to do his job.”