defiantgiant

Yeah, I'm sure Collins is history, but I'll be interested to see what they do with Hanie. It seems like there are two ways they could go: 1. Cut Collins, promote Hanie to the #2, and draft a #3 QB to develop. 2. Cut Collins, let Hanie walk, sign a vet in FA (whenever that happens) and draft a #3 QB to develop. Also, here's a couple more prospects for the file: Doug Hogue, OLB, Syracuse - has a private workout today for the Bears. I like this guy a lot as a Day 3 pick. He's going to have a long learning process, having only switched to OLB from halfback a couple of years ago. But he's got the ideal mix of size, speed, athleticism and coverage ability to be Briggs' successor on the weak side, and he should be an immediate contributor on special teams. Briggs is going to turn 31 this year, so he should have a couple of great seasons left; that gives a developmental guy like Hogue plenty of time to learn before they hand him the reins. Ryan Jones, CB, NW Missouri St. - small-school kid, don't really know anything about him. He has a workout with Chicago in the beginning of April. He's got good size/speed numbers (5'11", 197 pounds, 4.38 to 4.42 in the 40.) Productive guy: he's racked up 11 interceptions (2 for TDs) and 24 passes broken up over the last two seasons, plus 111 tackles over that same span. If he works out well, I wouldn't mind taking him in the 7th or as a priority UDFA.

Thanks, glad you liked it. I'll add one more to the list: Andy Dalton, QB, TCU - the Bears are bringing him in for a private workout on Thursday. They didn't send any coaches to his Pro Day at TCU, as far as I know. I could see him being a pretty ideal QB for a Martz offense, with some time. He's got a good enough arm to hit all the throws, solid accuracy, and seems very aware of what defenses are doing (at least when I've seen him play.) He ran TCU's offense extremely well and had great numbers as a senior (completed over 66% of his passes, over 9 yards per attempt, 26 TDs to just 6 interceptions) not to mention leading them to a 12-0 season and a win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. There really aren't any holes in his game, despite not having the sheer physical talent of a Cam Newton or Jake Locker. In this year's QB class, I could see a lot of teams starting to look seriously at Dalton toward the end of the 2nd round. This seems like it's just Chicago doing their due diligence in case he falls WAY farther than is likely.

Since there's nothing happening on the free-agency front any time in the foreseeable future, I thought we should have a running thread for all the draft prospects the Bears are putting through private workouts, and all the Pro Days they're sending coaches to. After all, it's the only thing that's going on between now and April. So I've listed all the workouts I could find so far, along with a quick report on the lesser-known guys and on which coaches the team sent to see each dude. Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin - Tice worked him out at Wisconsin's Pro Day. We all know this guy. I think most of us would be pretty happy to see him in a Bears uniform. Mike Pouncey, OG, Florida - Tice is at Florida's Pro Day today to look at Pouncey, and had a private interview with him at the Combine. Same as with Carimi, I think most of us would love to get this guy if he makes it to the bottom of the 1st, and it's nice to see that the team's showing a lot of interest. John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin - Also went through drills with Tice at Wisconsin's Pro Day. Big, powerful guy, but doesn't seem as polished as you'd expect from a Wisconsin lineman. From his interviews with the media, he seems like a pretty intelligent, hardworking kid, though. If he's got the drive to get better, he could be a nice developmental pick. He certainly has some potential as a mauling RG type, with some coaching from Tice and company. Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State - I know a bunch of us here like this guy. Much bigger than any of our current WRs at 6'2" and 209 pounds, with a long reach and great hands. Good-not-great speed (mid-4.5s in the 40) but great body control to change directions smoothly. Extremely productive in college. The Bears put him through a private workout Tuesday, but they only sent some offensive QC coach who I've never heard of. Shane Vereen, RB, Cal - This was an interesting one. Vereen would probably take a 3rd-rounder to get, and he might not even fall to the Bears at the bottom of the 3rd. It'd be cool if he did, though: he's a ready-made third-down back with nice speed and great shiftiness, plus he can pass protect and catch the ball. Surprisingly strong for a guy who's just 5'10" 210 pounds - he put up 31 reps on the bench. The Bears sent Tim Spencer to work him out, but they might just be doing their due diligence. TJ Yates, QB, UNC - Dude is just not that good a quarterback, in my opinion. I guess he's a good game manager-type who can work the short passing game, but he really just doesn't have much arm or great accuracy beyond short little dump-off passes. I've seen a fair amount of ACC football since I moved back to VA, and Yates really took a nose-dive once he didn't have a totally ridiculous WR group (Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate, and Brooks Foster, all of whom are now in the NFL.) Even as a late-round selection, I don't really see it with this guy. Bears sent Shane Day, the QBs coach, to work him out. Scott Tolzien, QB, Wisconsin - Martz was at Wisconsin's Pro Day, and worked Tolzien out one-on-one. Somebody who's watched more Wisconsin games than I have this season could answer this better than I can, but doesn't Tolzien kind of suck? Granted, their offense is from the 1940s and they just run the ball out of jumbo sets a million times a game, but I can't remember ever seeing Tolzien really make an impressive throw. Somebody help me out here - why is Martz looking at this guy? Nathan Enderle, QB, Idaho - same as Tolzien, Martz was at Idaho's pro day, although it's not clear if he did any individual work with Enderle. Big guy, pretty good arm, and can be accurate at times. Improved dramatically between 2008 and 2009, posting a nice completion percentage and great TD-Int ratio, but didn't have as good a year statistically in 2010. Could be a deep, deep developmental guy, but I have to think there are better prospects out there.

Dude, the standard for a "nice swing tackle" isn't that high. We're talking about a bench-warmer here. Frank Omiyale is worse than most of the league's starting left tackles, but so is every swing tackle. If they weren't, they'd be starters somewhere. How many pure backup OTs can you name, guys that are sitting on the bench unless someone gets hurt, who would be better starters at LT than Omiyale? The fact is that if you're starting your backup LT for any length of time, you're already in trouble. There are very, VERY few teams in the league that can lose their starting LT, bring a guy off the bench in his place, and keep right on moving without a blip. Why do you think so many teams shuffle o-linemen around when they lose a guy? Usually, your best bet to replace the LT is a starter somewhere else on the o-line, not your swing tackle. If you're lucky enough to have a second starting-caliber LT, chances are he's going to win a starting job at RT or somewhere else on the line. What team in the NFL has 2 above-average LTs, PLUS four other o-linemen good enough to keep one of those LTs on the bench? Really? Anyone who doesn't agree with you is either lying, ignorant, or forgot everything that happened this season? That's a little much, man. I watched every game. I watched every one of Omiyale's dumb false starts and holding penalties. I watched it every time he got beat for a sack. I remember all those games. And I still think Omiyale is at least as good as most teams' swing tackles, because most backups are backups for a reason. Remember that we went into the seasons with Chris Williams, not Omiyale, as the starting LT: he was never Plan A to begin with, and I don't think anybody here thinks he should be. But a swing tackle isn't even Plan B on the left side, he's like Plan C or D. And I'm OK with Omiyale being that.

Yeah, if history's any indication, he'll make a play for a D-lineman early. I read somewhere that he's spent a pick in Rounds 1-4 on a d-lineman every single year but one, and that was the year that he traded a pick for Ogunleye. So I think it's a given that he'll go d-line early, it's just a question of whether he goes o-line even earlier or tries to fix that in free agency (whenever that finally happens.) Totally agree, although I think there are a couple of FAs out there who would be better than Tommie. I'd rather sign Barry Cofield or Brandon Mebane or especially Cullen Jenkins. All those guys offer more pass rush than Tommie does at this point in his career, and they can play the run too. If Melton can take the next step as a DT, a rotation of Jenkins and Melton could be solid enough to free up Pep. That said, I'd take Drake Nevis in the 2nd (even if we have to trade up) over any of the free-agent DTs out there. Oh yeah, I really like Wootton to push for more playing time this year. I don't know how good he'll get as a pure pass-rusher, but I can see him developing into a good all-around DE to take over at left end when Idonije's done. Between him and Melton, it's nice to finally have a couple of good developmental prospects on our d-line.

Under tackle is actually another name for the three-tech. Adams' position (the one-tech) is sometimes called a nose guard, but never called an under tackle as far as I know. As for Paea at the 3-technique, I think Mayock called him a 3-tech because he played there some in college and because he's kind of undersized as DTs go. He definitely CAN play there for some teams, but he won't be the kind of 3-technique that a Tampa-2 defense requires. Bradjock already pointed it out, but Paea's not very refined as a pass-rusher, and he's lacking the natural agility/balance to slip through a crease. Warren Sapp talks a lot about how the under tackle in a Tampa defense needs to be able to "get skinny" through a crack. That's how he says you beat double-teams from that position: get the guard off-balance so there's a crease between him and the tackle, then you have to have the body control to slip through into the backfield. I don't really see that from Paea, from the little bit that I've watched him. He's not very flexible when he has to dip or move laterally, and he usually just overpowers guys. In a 4-3 defense that asks both d-tackles to stuff the run and creates pass pressure with LB blitzes and DE stunts, I could see him being an excellent 3-technique. In Tennessee, Detroit, or Philly he could be a 3-tech. Maybe in Denver under John Fox or in Carolina, depending on which scheme Rivera decides to go with from the ones he's coached in the past. In one of those defenses he'd be fine, but in a 4-3 like the one in Chicago (and Minnesota, Indy, Tampa, etc.) that relies on pass pressure from just the front 4, I don't think Paea's a 3-tech. That's the position where you need a freakish pass rusher, and having a guy who's got a good bull rush and some quickness probably won't cut it. In our defense I think he's a one-tech, and a very very good one at that, but they'd have to make sure they found Tommie's replacement first. I wouldn't be shocked if Minnesota looked at him in Round 2 as a one-tech, where he could replace Pat Williams. Same goes for Tampa Bay if Brian Price's hip/hamstring thing is as nasty as it sounds. Sucks since they just drafted the guy, but if he's done they might have to take a long look at Paea in the 2nd.

Yeah, the tender offers that are flying around right now aren't all meaningful. Nobody knows which players are going to be RFAs and which players are going to be UFAs, so they're just tendering everyone as if they'll be restricted. The NFLPA wants the new CBA to make 4-year vets eligible for unrestricted free agency, whereas the owners want to bump it up to 5 years. If the union wins out on that issue, players like Rice will be unrestricted free agents, and the tender offer won't mean a thing.

I'm not a big fan of Sims-Walker either. He's young and has some talent, but he had a golden opportunity to become the guy in Jacksonville and didn't do anything with it. The Jags didn't even make him a tender offer...the fact that they're letting him walk away for no compensation even though they have next to nothing behind him tells you that he's not valuable, even to a team in desperate need of a receiver. Here's a Jaguars insider (via rotoworld) on Sims-Walker: "He can't beat press coverage off the line of scrimmage and he also whines if they don't throw to him even if they win. He doesn't want to take the blame when he doesn't make a catch and he has a bad knee." They characterized him as more of a problem than an asset - that's not a guy who I think is going to be the answer for Chicago. I'd rather make an offer to Sidney Rice, even if it means overpaying, and get a guy who's proved he can make plays as a go-to receiver. That's better than taking a flyer on a guy who's never put it all together. Apart from that, though, I like your draft. Paea would be an impact replacement for Anthony Adams if he fell that far, Carimi would be a great addition to the o-line, and Virginia Tech's defensive backs always seem to come out of college NFL-ready.

Yeah, this. I have to think he'd be able to land a job as a position coach either in the NFL or at the college level. That's probably safer money than trying to make a comeback at age 36. Most running backs' legs are shot when they're like 28...who's going to take a flyer on a guy who's closer to 40 than 30?

Classy move, but then Tommie's always been a classy guy. It's a shame about the knee - he could have been the next Warren Sapp if he'd stayed healthy. It's going to be a tough job to replace his production from when he was healthy - even having a great edge rusher like Pep doesn't make up for not having that disruptive interior pressure. I was reading somewhere that Henry Melton's up to 290 pounds (from 267 when we drafted him) and Marinelli says he's got all the athletic tools you look for in a 3-technique tackle. Maybe he could pick up where Tommie left off back in 2007?

Yeah, I agree. It's never a good idea to spend a pick that high on a running back, unless the guy's a generational talent like Adrian Peterson or Ricky Williams. And for all the comparisons, Benson was no Ricky Williams in terms of talent. He looked like he'd be a pretty good bell-cow running back, not a game-changing player. Plus, they already had Thomas Jones, who'd put in a very solid performance in 2004. If anything, they just needed a good complement to Jones. You can find those guys anywhere in the draft if you look. Granted, that was a bad year to have a high first-round pick. Very few teams got a real stud like DeMarcus Ware. That said, the Benson pick could have been Antrel Rolle (who might have been able to stay at corner in a Cover-2, or he could have replaced Mike Brown at FS) or Jammal Brown (who could have started out at RT and then taken over at LT after Tait got old.) Either of those guys would have been a WAY better pick than Benson, even without the benefit of hindsight. And who knows how good the 2006 Bears could have been if they'd had Ware at DE. A d-line of Ware-Tank-Tommie-Wale with Alex Brown and Mark Anderson rotating in would have been a nightmare.

Don't they say that you know an offensive lineman's good when you've never heard his name? I know I'm sick of hearing Omiyale's name, since it always comes after "false start" or "holding." Seriously, you're right though - it's a very average list apart from the o-line and a couple of good run-stopping d-tackles. There are legitimately some good OL on that list, though, and that's not even all the OL who are going to hit free agency. Joseph would be a BIG upgrade at right guard (or he could switch to LG if Williams goes back to tackle) and Clabo's been just a beast for Atlanta as a run-blocking RT. Gallery is better than either of our starting guards by a good bit, and Trueblood is very very talented if he could get the penalties under control. There are going to be some good linemen out there in FA this year, whenever it finally happens. If the Bears draft an o-lineman in the 1st and then make an aggressive play for somebody like Joseph or Gallery, we could have a seriously improved line next season.

Agreed. Fingers crossed that we don't see any more athletic-with-upside-picks like Danieal Manning. Manning eventually panned out (which is more than you can say for most of JA's upside picks) but it took so long that the Bears were a mess at his position for like 3 seasons. And Manning's probably the best-case scenario for that kind of draft pick. No more of those guys, please - it's not worth it even when they turn out OK. That's the one thing I'm hopeful about with Ruskell on board. The thing that got him canned from Seattle was that he always took guys with a high floor and a low ceiling. He'd always go for the solid, productive, unspectacular guy, and so he ended up with a really polished team that was very mediocre athletically. If there's one thing you can say for the guy, he would never have picked players like Manning or Jarron Gilbert or Mark Bradley. I'm hoping that he and Angelo kind of cancel each other out, and we draft some athletic guys who can actually play football.

Yeah, this is the problem with James Jones. He's probably the most gifted WR in Green Bay: great combination of size and speed, incredibly athletic guy. But every time you see him on the field, he's dropping a surefire TD. It's to the point where he's not effective as a receiver, because you never know when he's going to catch the ball: he drops TONS of perfect passes that hit him in the hands. To my mind, he's in that Braylon Edwards category: looks like a starting WR until you ask him to catch a football. Ask any Packers fan...they're all sick of the guy.

For a big possession receiver who's impossible to bring down after the catch, I think you're right - a guy like that doesn't have to have the best hands in the world. In addition to Marshall, T.O. always had a ton of drops, even when he was in his prime. His catch rate usually hovered around 50%, but that never stopped him from being effective. Same thing with Randy Moss - because of his insane vertical speed, he was still a major threat even when he was only catching 4 or 5 out of every 10 passes. To make up for iffy hands, though, I think you've got to get big chunks of yardage when you do catch it. Usually, that means a guy's either a deep threat like Moss or a beast after the catch like Marshall and T.O. I don't think Hankerson's in Marshall or T.O.'s league with the ball in his hands, and he's not a field-stretcher like Moss. He's got good speed and good physicality after the catch, but not outstanding like those guys. Without being really special in either category, I think he's going to need to get better with the drops if he's going to be a good starter. That said, he's apparently been working really hard (with Mark Duper training him) on his hands, and I always root for guys who have the work ethic and desire to improve. My major problem with Hankerson is his route-running. I've seen multiple scouts say that he rounds off his routes, and doesn't have much suddenness or explosion when he's stemming a route and making his cut. You can get away with that in a West Coast offense, especially if you're a pretty good after-the-catch receiver, like Hankerson is. I could see him being a good starter for a short-passing WCO team like Cleveland; if they don't grab AJ Green in the 1st, Hankerson would be a nice consolation prize in the 2nd. But I don't think he'd be a great fit in Martz's offense, since it's so incredibly demanding as far as route-running goes.

Speaking of O-line and receivers, Bob LeGere came up with a list of free agents who he thinks could help the Bears. Here's his list: QB Marc Bulger, Ravens (10) OT Rashad Butler, Texans (5) OT Tyson Clabo, Falcons (6) WR Malcom Floyd, Chargers (5) DT Aubrayo Franklin, 49ers (8) OG Robert Gallery, Raiders (6) OG Richie Incognito, Dolphins (7) WR Jacoby Jones, Texans (4) OG Davin Joseph, Bucs (5) OT Sean Locklear, Seahawks (7) DT Brandon Mebane, Seahawks (5) WR Mike Sims-Walker, Jaguars (4) OT Jeremy Trueblood, Bucs (5) Numbers in parentheses are years in the NFL. So if it turns out under the new CBA that only 4-year vets are RFAs (which is what the players are asking for,) then everybody but Jacoby Jones and Mike Sims-Walker will be unrestricted. Also, I think Incognito got re-signed since LeGere's article came out. My two cents: if 5-year vets are unrestricted under the new CBA, then the Bears ought to be on the phone with Davin Joseph and possibly Brandon Mebane. Gallery would be a decent option if Joseph isn't available. Both Floyd and Sims-Walker are very brittle - I'm not that high on either of them. Franklin is a great player, but he's more of a run-stopping nose tackle; I don't think he has that much value unless Anthony Adams leaves. It would be awesome to get Bulger as a backup QB (mostly because that would mean we're definitely cutting Todd Collins) but I think he's going to want to go somewhere like Arizona, where he could start.

Yeah, Peppers isn't taking less money, they're just changing how he gets paid so that they have some more cap room to play with. He'd still have to agree to change his contract, and I'm glad he did, but it's no skin off his nose really.

I'd love to make that move if he checks out medically. He's missed a bunch of games the last couple of years, so they'll want to be sure he's OK. If he checks out, though, he's one of the better LGs in the league.

Yeah, the Skins paid pretty reasonable money for Atogwe, too - 5 years, $26 million. Having him and LaRon Landry gives them a pretty serious safety tandem. Also, the Bears restructured Peppers' contract so that his cap number for this year drops from $12 million to $4.3 million. Maybe they're freeing up some space to make a move in free agency or a trade?

If the Bears want to draft a guy to play center in Round 1, they should look at Rodney Hudson, not Pouncey. Pouncey's not like his brother - he struggled in a major way when Florida moved him to center, and he seems to have serious trouble snapping the ball, particularly in the shotgun. I like Hudson better than Pouncey in terms of his technique and leverage, it's just that he's undersized to play guard. At center, though, he's pretty much a prototype player - I think he could step in from day 1 and hold down the starting job. Personally, I think they should re-sign Kreutz for one more year, then draft a center on Day 3 to develop for 2012. Jake Kirkpatrick from TCU would be perfect. He's got the physical tools and intelligence (like Hudson) to be a great center in a year or so, he just doesn't have Hudson's great blocking technique. With a year to learn from Kreutz and work on his technique, he could be the guy. Plus, he'd only take like a 5th or 6th-round pick to get.

Yeah, I'd bet that he would, too. Several teams out there could use a strong safety who can cover (Houston, Jacksonville, Seattle, San Francisco) and a bunch more teams would be interested in a difference-making kick returner (Houston again, Miami, Green Bay, Indianapolis) who can also contribute as a nickel DB. For a team like Houston, he'd kill two birds with one stone. They obviously weren't happy with Bernard Pollard in coverage, and Manning can cover better than that guy. Plus they need to upgrade from Steve Slaton on kick returns, and Manning's a way better KR than Slaton. On top of all that, Manning offers one thing that very, very few safeties can: durability. The guy's only missed 3 games in 5 seasons as a pro. How many other safeties on the market can say that? If I were the Texans and Manning hit the market, I'd definitely shell out more than 3 years, $6 million to get him. I would think he could draw something more like 5 years/$30 million (about what Kerry Rhodes got,) with maybe $15 million guaranteed and structured so a team can cut him after the next-to-last year (when he'll be 32) if he's in decline by then. Paying $3 million a year (in guaranteed money) to fill two major needs with a proven, durable player who's still got several good years left? That's a no-brainer.

Plus, from what I'm told, Cole's big weakness was pass protection (as you might expect for a guy who goes 6'0" and 350 pounds.) The Bears can't afford to take on a guy who's weak in that area, not if they want Cutler to start 16 games.

Omiyale would be a better-than-average backup, but he shouldn't be starting. I'd have no problem with signing him long-term as a swing tackle. They just need to get a real starting LT in front of him. As for Webb, I think he showed a ton of potential. They need to keep him locked in at RT and see what he can do.

I don't entirely blame Martz for Collins; I think Collins was an emergency pickup, rather than a guy Martz really coveted. We were kicking the tires on any vets who'd ever played in a system similar to Martz's...I think he just wanted somebody who knew the offense. Collins was just about the last guy on the list after everybody else said no. But presumably Hanie knows the offense now, so why wouldn't they try to hang onto him as the #2? Especially since Collins proved that he doesn't have anything left. I don't get it.

A defensive end in the 2nd would be an AWFUL move. That's the one position on defense where Chicago's actually got kind of a logjam. Unless Melton kicks inside full-time, they have all the DEs they need. Even if he does move to tackle, they still only need a late-round developmental kind of guy. Here's Walterfootball's mock...I don't hate it at first, but it gets worse as it goes on: 1: Mike Pouncey, G, Florida - off to a great start 2: Marvin Austin, DT, UNC - not a terrible pick, but Drake Nevis is still on the board here and doesn't come with Austin's character issues. 3: Kendric Burney, CB, UNC - umm, a 5'9" corner who ran a 4.71 in the 40? This guy is strictly a nickel/dime corner, and DJ Moore can do that better. According to Walterfootball's board, this pick could have been a free safety (Robert Sands or Deunta Williams,) a change-of-pace running back (Kendall Hunter or Delone Carter,) or a wide receiver (Niles Paul or Austin Pettis.) 4: Jarriel King, T/G, South Carolina - this guy is rated as a 7th round/UDFA type, but we're taking him in the 4th? He's raw and inconsistent on the field, has durability problems, plus he has a rap sheet for everything from trespassing to assault and battery. Pick could have been Colin McCarthy, the linebacker from Miami U. 5: Ronald Johnson, WR, USC - finally, a wide receiver. Only...this guy is 5'11", weighs under 190 pounds, and his best value is as a slot receiver/punt returner. This pick could have been Jalil Brown (the corner from Colorado) or Roy Helu, Jr. 6: Terrel McClain, DT, USF - like this pick, but I'd be real surprised if McClain falls this far. I like getting Pouncey, but after that it gets bad. If you look at the rest of the Walterfootball mock, this draft could have gone: 1: Mike Pouncey, OG, Florida 2: Drake Nevis, DT, LSU 3: Austin Pettis, WR, Boise State 4: Colin McCarthy, LB, Miami 5: Jalil Brown, CB, Colorado 6: Terrel McClain, DT, USF