“Have you heard anything about the Bears moving defensive lineman Greg Scruggs to tight end? Cornelius Washington has Scruggs’ No. 90 now and Scruggs is listed on the Bears roster now as a tight end with No. 87. — @wasram
“That’s a sharp catch by you. The Bears asked Scruggs to change positions on May 2 at the start of the third week of the voluntary offseason workout program, according to a source close to the player. It also happened to be the first day the veterans were in the building after the draft in which the Bears were unable to add a tight end. Scruggs was probably a longshot to make the roster as a defensive lineman and he actually played tight end at Louisville during summer camp before his senior season when the Cardinals were short at the position… They’re looking for a Y tight end that can block. While Scruggs is listed at 310 pounds, he’s weighing 289 right now and if he didn’t look like he could handle the position, the Bears would have likely moved him back to the defensive line or released him.”
At almost 300 pounds, Scruggs could make a decent blocker but is unlikely to show the versatility to be a threat in the passing game. More and more, teams are desperate to find the versatility needed to make a good dual purpose tight end.
Teams will frequently try to convert larger wide receivers to tight end but hese players most frequently show the opposite problem: they can catch but they can’t block.
I’ve never understood why teams aren’t trying to convert the players who are most often tasked with defending these tight ends, the linebackers. They typically show about the same size and need the mobility for the position. Perhaps its because they rarely show ideal length. Still, there must be linebackers out there that are worth a try.
All offseason speculation was that the Bears wanted to get stronger at running back. Despite their insistence that they were happy with running backs that they had, there were indications that the Bears would like to add one. The most obvious sign came when the Bears offered restricted free agent C.J. Anderson a contract. In the end Anderson signed an offer from Miami and Denver matched it.
With that in mind the Bears selection of Indiana running back Jordan Howard in the fifth-round is an interesting one. The scouting reports on Howard are glowing. His size, aggressive running style, footwork in the hole and, especially, his vision are all strengths and the consensus seems to be that he’s got good potential to be an impact player. So why did he fall to the fifth round?
A clue may be found in the interview which Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribunedid withDeland McCullough, running backs coach at indiana, about Howard:
“Does he get behind his pads well and lower his pads?
“‘Oh, yeah. Again, getting what you stress, that’s one of the things we emphasize — running with low pads. Obviously not being what I call ‘dumb tough,’ just running into guys to run into them, (but) to use it as a means to set things up and also to send a message that, ‘Hey, I’m here, and I’m coming hard every time.’ Of course, once you soften those guys up, you get them on their heels, you’re able to utilize your spin move, sidestep guys, etc.'”
Sounds good. Unfortunately independent scouting reports don’t support McCullough’s answer, probably the reason why Campbell asked question in the first place. For instance, NFL.com says about Howard: “Upright pads and narrow base leads to slips and balance issues when trying to make sharp cuts.”
This, apparently, is the major concern about Howard along with potential health issues. He suffered a torn meniscus and a stress fracture in his pelvis during his junior year in high school and he missed four games and parts of three others with knee and ankle injuries. His relentless running style may lead to more injuries than the Bears would like.
The good news is that Howard appears to have everything it takes to make a good NFL starter. It appears that his size, agility toughness and vision are all top notch. It will be interesting to see if the Bears can coach him into a less upright running style which will leave him less prone to injury.
Now that the NFL draft is behind us I thought it might be time to wrap it up with some odds and ends left over in the wake of the annual selection process.
I for the most part agreed with the assessment of the Dolphins post draft roster roster for the Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday. But I have to take exception of his assertion that the defensive backfield is weaker than it was in 2015. The additions of Byron Maxwell and Xavien Howard have transformed an under-sized unit into one with considerable more length that should be able to better deal with the rigors of divisional play with some huge tight ends and wide receivers on the docket. Rashad Jones remains with the team and the addition of Isa Abdul-Quddus is being under-rated.
I’m more in line with Armando Salguero at the Herald when he says that the the success of the Dolphins draft class rides on how well Howard develops. The Dolphins paid a steep price to get him, the 42nd overall pick along with a fourth-round pick (107th overall) to move up four slots in the second round. If he works out it will be well worth it as the Dolphins should be very solid across the board on the back end. If it doesn’t, it will go down as just one of a series of draft failures for the team at the position.
Quarterback Cody Kessler may be the luckiest player in the NFL right now. Most believed going into the selection process that he was a late-round pick, if not an undrafted free agent. But all it takes is one and Kessler found an NFL coach that apparently believes in him.
Drafted in round 3 by the Cleveland Browns, presumably at the recommendation of head coach Hue Jackson, Kessler has none of the dominant physical tools that most coaches believe they need to mold a less instinctive quarterback into the next star (see Christian Hackenberg below). Instead, Jackson is betting on savvy and decision making. It will be interesting to see how Kessler develops and, if Jackson is right, if it won’t affect the way that other teams approach drafting the position in the future.
This draft was widely believed to be among the deepest ever in terms of defensive tackles and players that would have gone in the first round in other drafts were available as late as the third round. The Dolphins decidedly under-performed opposite Ndamukong Suh at this position and you have to wonder if they won’t regret simply sticking with Deandre Coleman and Jordan Phillips.
The Dolphins have staked a lot on the effect of another year’s experience and better coaching when it comes to these players. There’s little hope that the run defense will be better unless there is improvement in the play at defensive tackle.
If you’re already tired of seeing new Minnesota Viking Moritz Boehringer on your TV screen, I’ve got some bad news for you. You’re going to see a lot more of him this summer and, heaven help us, into the fall.
Boehringer is a German born wide receiver who saw a video of Adrian Peterson when he was 17 and decided that he wanted to be a NFL football player. He comes to the league as a former member of the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns of the German Football League.
Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer was apparently thrilled as he said, “That’s kind of what the draft is all about — making dreams come true.”
Zimmer has been around long enough to know that is most certainly not what the draft, or anything else associated with the NFL, is about.
Dollar signs appeared in owners eyes all over the league as an opportunity to further promote football in Europe presented itself on a silver platter and the NFL Network has run with it, making it one of the stories of the draft.
If Boehringer had been Chinese, commissioner Roger Goodell would have probably had to change his pants.
We can only speculate about what precipitated this release but it wasn’t the draft as the Dolphins failed to select a defensive end. Perhaps the reason had something to do with this explanation from Salguero .
Because thing he did best was stand behind reporters and joke w/ teammates while they were being interviewed. https://t.co/mpapTLmPnk
It’s also worth noting that Moore was released from the Giants after violating team rules, reportedly after an altercation with Cullen Jenkins over headphones. Jay Glazer at Fox Sports reported that it was only one of many such altercations.
Similar incidents would be a pretty good reason to release such a player in Miami. The release may also be a sign that the Dolphins are counting on the return of troubled player Dion Jordan more than they ought.
The Cowboys have received a lot of good publicity for taking linebacker Jaylon Smith in the second round. Smith was widely believed to be amongst the best players in the draft until he suffered a brutal knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl. The images of Smith’s relief at being drafted so high were heart warming but ultimately the Cowboys may pay a high price for the good feelings this evoked.
Smith’s injury included a damaged nerve similar to what running back Marcus Lattimore suffered in 2012. Lattimore was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft and never played a down for the 49ers.
This is the trouble with nerve injuries. There’s nothing you can do to fix them. Either the body heals on its own or it never heals at all. Before the draft I figured that there were 32 team doctors all telling 32 general managers the same thing: “We don’t know. It could come completely back or it might not.” I was wrong. It was 31 team doctors.
That’s because the surgeon who fixed Smith’s knee is the Cowboys team doctor. The assumption here is that owner Jerry Jones thought he was getting inside information on this injury but he really should know better.
Surgeons as a group are a different breed. They carry a confidence about them such that I’ve never met one yet that would look you in the eye and say, “Naw. He may never recover.” That confidence is part of what makes them good surgeons. But it makes the advice that Jones got in this case highly questionable.
Feel good or not, Smith should have never come off the board before the fourth round. The guess here is the his recovery is a coin flip at best.
Here’s the problem with that theory. Fuller is an under-sized body catcher who had 21 drops the last two seasons. Miller made the conversion from quarterback to wide receiver last year at Ohio State and was very athletic. Unfortunately he too has trouble not only with running routes but with just holding on to the ball as demonstrated graphically by his less than stellar performance in the Senior Bowl.
Sure these players are athletic. But how much help are they going to be if they lack the hand-eye coordination to perform the most basic function of any wide receiver: catching the ball.
One Final Thought: Message to the New York Jet, who pulled off one of the surprises of the draft when they took Hackenberg in the second round. It’s not a good thing when the NFL Network flashes up a graphic about your pick and under “Weaknesses” it simply says, “Game Tape”.
“During his victory lap Saturday after the NFL draft, Bears general manager Ryan Pace reveled in revealing how coach John Fox urged him to find tough, ‘throwback players.”
“One day later, Pace cut starting guard Matt Slauson, the guy teammates considered the toughest player in the locker room, a veteran who could not have epitomized a throwback player any more without wearing a leather helmet.
“That message confuse anyone else?”
“Whoever starts at left guard, rest assured the Bears will tout his athleticism and ability to block downfield ‘in space.’
“Those are nebulous terms, things you hear thrown out when football people try to sound convincing.”
Haugh describes the process of determining which player will stay as if it’s considerably more one dimensional than it obviously is. Toughness is one trait. But there’s a lot that goes into it.
I don’t know what Haugh is implying. If it wasn’t Slauson’s athleticism, for what reason is he proposing that the Bears released the player? Was there some conspiracy against him?
I understand that Slauson, the recipient of the 2015 Good Guy Award presented by the Chicago chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America, was popular amongst members of the media. But enough is enough. These things happen in football and no one knows that better than Slauson. Time to let it go.
“Reserves: Brian Hoyer, David Fales, Matt Blanchard.
“Main competition: Hoyer vs. Fales. Pace wanted an experienced backup behind Cutler, but he still thought enough of Fales to prevent the Ravens from signing him off the Bears’ practice squad late last season. Fales, a sixth-round pick in 2014, has an edge to him, and this might be his last chance with the team.”
This could be true but I think most of us believe that Hoyer is a lock at the back up position at this point. He’s a veteran and he’s familiar with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. I’d be surprised if the battle wasn’t between Fales and Blanchard for the third QB spot.
It wasn’t really the focus of this post bet because its in the same article I’m going to add my thoughts on this comment on the Bears status at wide receiver:
“Meanwhile, [Daniel] Braverman, a seventh-round selection, is the only true slot receiver. His development and integration is worth monitoring at training camp.”
I generally like Jahns but this was a bone-headed comment. Anyone who has come to the conclusion that Eddie Royal isn’t a true slot receiver wasn’t paying attention last year. Lack of depth and his desire to show that he was more than that pushed him outside to the detriment of both himself and the team. He never performed up to his capabilities until the Bears moved him back inside.
“Threw everyone — but especially the Giants — a curveball by swooping into the top 10 to take Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who needs to add some bulk before making a big impact. Used three of their nine picks on safeties.”
I would agree and I was surprised that the Giants didn’t get more flack for their next choice in other places:
“Giants: C
“Doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the home-run draft GM Jerry Reese needed. Caught flat-footed by the Bears moving up to steal Leonard Floyd, and scouts are divided about top pick Eli Apple.”
Reese is widely believed to be in some trouble in New York and with some justification. Tom Coughlin took the fall for a bad season with a talent-poor roster last year.
I’m convinced that the Bears trade to leap over the Giants did, indeed, throw them for a loop and they reacted poorly with what is widely believed to be a reach. I like Apple more than most because of his length but almost no one believed that he was a top 10 pick. It had the look of a panic move by a team that didn’t have a plan if the guys they had targeted all went early (no one anticipated Laremy Tunsil‘s fall and that pushed guys like Floyd up the board a slot or two).
“‘Well, when somebody doesn’t know what they’re talking about, it’s easy to depict it that way because they don’t know what they’re talking about,’ Reese said. ‘We clearly went through this scenario that Apple could be the player we would pick.'”
If you say so.
The Bears reacted better when the Packers leap-frogged them to take Indiana tackle Jason Spriggs in the second though general manager Ryan Pace claims that it had no effect on their draft they immediately traded back for the second time in the round when Spriggs went off the board. Though Cody Whitehair is a good pick, a good offensive tackle made a lot more sense than a guard at that point.
But if the Packers out maneuvered them for Spriggs, at least the Bears were ready and got good value. The Giants really didn’t.
“Running back Jordan Howard, a fifth-rounder, is a bruiser who can wear out tacklers and help the Bears finish games. He could be even more effective as a fourth-quarter runner than he was at Indiana because the Bears huddle more than the Hoosiers did. He’ll actually have his wind.”
Not buying this reasoning. The whole point behind a no huddle, spread offense is to keep the defense from getting its wind. Theoretically the offense, as the attacker, has less trouble. So if anything, Howard will have a tougher time not an easier time.
“As we understand the Bears’ plan for developing [Leonard] Floyd and three Day 3 defensive backs under some well-regarded defensive coaches, remember that new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone are inexperienced by comparison.
“Considering Jay Cutler‘s contract is now a pay-as-you-go proposition, it was smart to continue building the supporting cast. That will better position a young quarterback to step in and succeed, whenever that finally happens.”
I pushed a lot less for a quarterback in this draft than I did in the last one. There are a number of reasons for that, not the least of which is Campbell’s point about Loggains and Ragone. Frankly, even if they drafted a quarterback, there’s some doubt in my mind about the current staff’s ability to develop one.
Having said that, though Cutler raised his level of play last year to league average, it’s hard to trust him. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the very inexperience of the Loggains undermines his new found confidence and mental toughness. Yes, Loggains was promoted partly because of his relationship with Cutler. But we’ve heard about these good relationships before.
I would have thought the Bears might have taken a quarterback with potential to eventually start on Day 2 or early on Day 3. If Cutler falls apart again this year or sustains a serious injury, there isn’t going to be a developmental quarterback in the pipeline. Next season we could be saying the same old saw: If not Cutler, then who? That’s a question that needs to be answered with good planning in the draft. The Bears are neglecting the position at their own risk.
“‘It was a pretty thin position this year, to be honest with you,’ Pace said. ‘When I talk about being careful about not moving guys up too high based on needs, we were conscious of that.
“Pace was hopeful the Bears could sign an undrafted free agent tight end. But that’s generally not where you find the next Martellus Bennett.”
No, it’s not.
This is a problem that isn’t going to go away any time soon with so many college programs running spread offenses. If coaches want to find tight ends for the pro game, they’re going to have to get creative.
Teams are already drafting big wide receivers as tight ends but that’s not enough. It might be time to start looking at every back up linebacker on your roster to see what kind of hands they have.
