adam
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Posts posted by adam
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After seeing today's games, it is evident that they should wait until the season is completely finished before voting. If you think about it, there is no reason to do it with 2+ games remaining with the Pro Bowl being played AFTER the Super Bowl.
Urlacher would almost be a guarantee after his last two games:
8 tackles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 2 Sacks, 2 Interceptions, 2 Passes Defended, and a Touchdown. He is now the only player in the league with 4 or more Sacks and Interceptions.
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Nice win. If we are going to win this late in the season, at least it was against GB.
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From FoxSports:
Although he won't say it officially, Bears coach Lovie Smith is leaning toward dumping offensive coordinator Ron Turner.http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7597496
YES!!!!!
Step #1 - Fire Ron Turner - CHECK!
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I certainly drank the Arch Kool-Aid before the season. I thought that if he was brought back to the Cover 2 with Lovie, that he would excel. Boy was I wrong.
The Harris deal was probably a little premature, but with Payne, it was hard not to go with the younger guy.
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Hopefully some of the bench players will get another look/first look. Hass anyone?
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I would go with McFadden, but yeah, that would never happen. Briggs will go to the highest bidder.
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He damn well better improve a lot over the off-season if he's gonna start
If it does happen, I hope it does not affect his return game.
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I have seen it before, but I cannot recall which team did it. They only did it on obvious run plays.
The biggest issue would be with matchups, and it would seem to leave some huge holes over the middle.
Most teams just blitz a LB to give the same effect.
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http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?STORY_ID=4215
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Given the progress that Devin Hester has made on offense this season, don’t be surprised if the Bears’ electrifying return specialist challenges for a starting wide receiver position in 2008.“He has that kind of ability,” said receivers coach Darryl Drake. “He has that kind of upside. We’ll be working towards allowing him to have the opportunity to do that.”
Hester has emerged in recent weeks on offense, catching nine passes for 95 yards in the Bears’ last two games after compiling nine receptions for 139 yards in the first 12 contests.
“He’s taken some of those steps [toward] becoming maybe a full-time guy where we’re talking about Devin Hester the receiver rather than Devin Hester the Pro Bowl kick returner,” said coach Lovie Smith. “He’s made big strides to becoming a better receiver.
“In time, that’s what I see him being. I see him being an every down wide receiver and doing the same type of special things once he gets his hands on the football as a receiver.”
After being selected to his second straight Pro Bowl as a return specialist earlier this week, Hester admitted that he has thought about one day making the all-star game as a receiver.
“I think I’m gradually getting better,” said Hester, a 2006 second-round draft pick from Miami. “I don’t feel I’m a complete receiver right now. [but] I feel I’m improving with each game.”
Drake agrees with that assertion and also believes that Hester has gotten a bum rap from some outsiders who believe that the second-year pro has been slow to learn the offense.
The receivers coach points to a pass play a few weeks ago when Hester ran the correct route, but it appeared he wasn’t on the same page as the quarterback because of where the ball was thrown.
“Sometimes he’s been unfairly tagged as not knowing what to do in certain situations, and it hasn’t been his fault,” Drake said.
Possibly leverage against Berrian?
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1. I agree. The money vs production could be used elsewhere. The only way the Bears keep Briggs is if Urlacher's back is worse than expected - or he signs a cap friendly deal.
2. I agree. Olsen needs to see majority of the action, Dez has been solid, but the money could be used elsewhere.
3. 50/50 on this one. Brown is more consistent than Anderson, and the way the DL was decimated this year, quality depth is hard to come by.
4. Agree, save money, and bring in some younger bodies.
4b. Davis' situation would hinge on what happens with Berrian and Moose.
5. Without a viable replacement, this would be a bad idea - but if there is a legitimate replacement, then go for it.
6. At WR, the Bears would need to bring someone in via FA if Berrian and Moose are gone.
7. Getting Turner would be huge. Should be a top 3 priority.
8. For the O-Line, we need quality, not quantity. I would draft only ones that would contribute (first few rounds), then pick up others via FA.
9. I would look at 2 via FA, as long as the contracts worked, otherwise, one at a minimum
QB - I would look at every option, keep what we got, draft, FA, or trade - and go with the best solution for this team
Also, we need a new Offensive Coordinator.
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How about Aaron Brooks? The guy passed for 3,500 yds 4 seasons straight. Hasn't played in 2007. Would come cheap, worth a shot?
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I went OLine, but it will probably be Best Available (which was not a choice).
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Yep. All the changes/moves they made in the offseason backfired. Some of the biggest moves that backfired were the Smith and Angelo extensions.
Less than a month after reaching the Super Bowl, the Chicago Bears resolved a major issue Wednesday night when they agreed on an extension with Smith that runs through 2011. They also locked in Angelo through 2013.That started the downward spiral. Add the Rivera departure, then Jones' departure, then add the injuries and you have one helluva bad season.
The only saving grace is that the Bears are in the NFC, and with a few impact FA acquisitions, and some solid draft picks, they can be back in the mix next year.
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I cant think of which game but i recall at one point in the season we had our whole secondary out with injuries.
That was the Detroit game. Tillman, Vasher, Brown, and Archuleta were all injured.
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Okay, who do you take instead of him?
Also, Benson was the most logical pick anyway. He was a beast in college and looked like a sure thing.
WR would have been a more logical position to select, but like I said in another post, he was probably the "best available". I guess it was a good thing that we did not draft a WR, because it would've been Mike Williams.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...4&cset=true
If you haven't heard the news, the Bears are the latest Super Bowl loser to miss the playoffs the season after a trip to the big game.Seven of the last eight runners-up failed to gain a postseason berth after their success the previous season. The Bears' 20-13 loss to Minnesota on Monday night officially put them in the club.
You undoubtedly will read stories or hear people talking about why this happens so regularly to Super Bowl also-rans. Theories will be trotted out about teams resting on their laurels or players spending too much time in the off-season on the banquet circuit. And the theories even might be applicable to some of the Super Bowl losers that couldn't seem to handle success.
But not to the Bears. The Bears are not a case study in the pitfalls facing Super Bowl losers.
The Bears are a case study in bad football.
The team's brass would love it if someone advanced the theory that the players got fat after losing to the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. Or that the hunger simply had been blunted by a taste of success. Or that the 2007 season is just an example of human nature doing what human nature tends to do.
But it's none of that. This is a poorly coached, talent-thin organization that made poor decisions leading up to this season. This team is so removed from being in last season's Super Bowl, Halas Hall might as well be in Dubai.
So, no, this isn't about a Super Bowl hangover. Please, no more of that nonsense. This is about two things: a good team that got lucky in a bad NFC last season and, from top to bottom, a lost organization this season.
Looking back on it from the vantage point of this season, it seems so obvious now. The Bears were never in position to get better offensively because they had no playmakers on offense. And that includes returner extraordinaire Devin Hester, who apparently can't grasp the offense well enough to make a difference.
Talk about a bad confluence: No talent and an offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, who can't adapt. Trust me, in the NFL a lack of ability and imagination is impossible to overcome.
An aging offensive line has been awful this season. Forget Thomas Jones. With this line, it might not have made a difference if the Bears had the Minnesota version of Adrian Peterson.
They still don't have a quarterback and didn't even when Rex Grossman was healthy.
Head coach Lovie Smith wanted to mess with the defense in the off-season, wanted to put his own mark on it. So he got rid of Ron Rivera when he should have been paying more attention to the coordinator on the other side of the ball.
That Brian Urlacher was not voted to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday is stunning, given that his popularity was thought to make him recession-proof. But he has an arthritic back, and opponents didn't seem quite so afraid of running at him this season. If you want to know how far the Bears have fallen, look no further than that.
It adds a few more tremors to an already shaky future.
Other injuries slowed down the Bears, obviously. Cornerback Nathan Vasher missed a large chunk of the season and defensive tackle Tommie Harris wasn't himself most of the year.
But come on. A 5-9 record? From a team that talked about getting back to the Super Bowl as if it were a given? It had the commensurate cockiness that great teams have, just not the commensurate talent and coaching.
I picked the Bears to go 12-4 this season. So shame on me for believing they had what it takes to take another step. They talked a good game, and I listened. When I made that prediction, I used it as a challenge to the Bears. Prove that last season wasn't a fluke, I said.
It sure feels like a fluke right now.
They need a quarterback and a running back, but they have a general manager in Jerry Angelo who can't identify talent at either position. And they have a head coach who doesn't seem to do much coaching.
Other than that, bring on 2008!
The Bears play Green Bay on Sunday. On Tuesday, Smith was talking about the possibility of sweeping the Packers this season. You can't blame him. When he was hired, fans and media wanted him to understand the importance of the rivalry with our neighbors to the north. Well, he gets it. He might not get how to coach, but he gets the rivalry. Whoopee.
One of the Bears' themes this season was finishing what they had started in Super Bowl XLI. The new theme is to just finish. The sooner the better.
Somewhat accurate, but I don't agree with "a good team that got lucky in a bad NFC last season".
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Hass definitely needs to play. Great hands and runs decent routes. Why not?
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Disagree.
One. While TJ did not have a bad year, it wasn't believed he was a special back either. A servicable, or even good back, maybe, but not a special back.
Two. To that point, TJ had not shown an ability to stay healthy, nor had he proven capable of being a workhorse. The 240 carries he had that year were nearly double his career high.
Three. It is very easy to say it was a mistake today as we have seen Benson play, and at this point, it is hard to even think much less recall what was said about his them. Benson was a very highly rated RB. He was considered a special RB. In fact, as I recall, several publications had him being one of the best RBs to hit the draft in years. RB was not our #1 need, but at the same time, you hate to pass on a player you feel is a franchise player that can carry the franchise because he have a decent player at that position. The year we drafted Urlacher, MLB was not our top need as Minter was still a servicable enough MLB, but it was felt that Urlacher was simply that special sort of player you can't pass on. I doubt many question that pick.
I would put it simply this way. If Benson became the special player he was hyped up to be, I think you would be hard pressed to find those who would argue his selection. NO had Deuce McAlister and drafted Bush, who they felt was special, and few questioned it. Minny had Chester Taylor, who had just rushed for over 1,200 yards and a 4 ypc average. He proved he was a workhorse w/ his 300+ carries, and added 42 catches as well. Yet that did not stop them from drafting AP.
I would argue that Chester Taylor had proven himself in Minny far more than TJ in Chicago. Would you argue Minny was wrong to draft AP?
It is easy to look back and say it was a mistake, but IMHO, you would not be saying that today if Benson had developed into the player so many scouts felt he would be.
We can go back and forth all day, but I guess it would come down to what perspective you take. These were comments from ESPN, etc about Benson before the draft:
Projection: Cedric Benson is clearly a first-round talent, but teams might think twice before taking him at the top of the round because of questions about whether his heart is really in the game.NEGATIVES: Gives minimal attempts blocking. Seemingly goes down rather easily at times or finishes the play running out of bounds. Experienced fumbling problems this season. Made some very selfish comments prior to his junior campaign when asked to share the load at running back.
ANALYSIS: An outstanding athlete who gave up a career in baseball, Benson has all the physical skills to be a premier NFL back. Has the abilities to be a three-down player effective in passing situations. Must pick up the tempo of his blocking and does not always show a fire in his belly, yet when hitting on all cylinders a franchise running back.
PROJECTION: Early First Round
We all know he has all the talent in the world to be an elite RB, but when you see these comments from 2004/2005, and we are still dealing with them 3 years later is very disappointing.
This was probably exactly what you said, take the best guy available at #4, and they felt Benson was that guy. Hopefully he still can be.
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Toeaina is a prime example of what the Bears need to do the next 2 weeks. Play guys like this and see what they can do. He seems like a keeper.
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That was coming off of Jones's first year in Chicago, and Jones still wasn't looking like a #1 back. Still had a couple fumbles that year, still didn't put up 1000 yards, still missed a couple games. His performance skyrocketed the next 2 years. Personally, I think it's hard to blame the Bears for taking a RB in what most people thought was supposed to be a strong RB draft when they were drafting really high and where they though they didn't have a 1000 yard guy in the backfield.
In hindsight, it's sure looking like Benson is the wrong choice. I'll withhold saying that for certain until we see him behind a decent O-Line, but at the time it certainly seemed justified.
Wasn't' looking like a #1 back? He had 1,375 Total yards from scrimmage that year on a 5-11 team. That is solid production from an RB. He only had one fumble lost that year, and finished the season with back-to-back 100 yard games.
Going into the 2005 draft, RB should have been near the bottom for priorities. Especially with the #4 pick. If the draft was strong at RB, then you can normally pick up quality later in the draft. That is actually more of a reason not to draft an RB when that was not a critical need.
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There is absolutely positively no reason why Mike Hass continues to be IA.
I agree. I would love to see what he can do.
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I say the Bears trade for some backup that is not even being mentioned. Someone like Carr, he played with Berrian in college, and would probably be an upgrade over anything we currently have.
Anyone miss Brigg's today?
in Bearstalk
Posted
Not for how much he wants. If Williams does that again next week, Briggs will be in another uniform next year.