Just some national coverage

[canadianbear]

Good read...if already posted, so sorry.

 

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/06/3...er-but-not-best

 

Posted June 30, 2009 @ 9:51 a.m.

By Dan Arkush

In what up to now has been a major summer of discontent — with both the Cubs and White Sox struggling mightily just to get to .500 — July 31 can’t come soon enough for many Chicago-area sports fans.

 

That’s the date when both rookies and veterans are scheduled to report to the Bears’ training camp in Bourbonnais, Ill., which, if this offseason’s minicamps and OTAs are any indication, figures to be perhaps the most well-attended camp ever.

 

A major Bears buzz has been hovering over the Windy City since the moment GM Jerry Angelo stunned the populace with his blockbuster April 2 acquisition of 26-year-old Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler, who had worn out his welcome in Denver but has very quickly become the toast of Chi-town.

 

In any of a thousand strip malls in and around Chicago, one can’t help but notice the large number of shoppers wearing Cutler’s new No. 6 Bears jersey.

 

Following in the shaky footsteps of 11 different starting signalcallers in Angelo’s eight years as the Bears’ GM, Cutler couldn’t seem more at ease in his new surroundings, making a mostly strong impression off the field while looking every bit as good as advertised in early practice sessions.

 

“I’m really comfortable, Cutler said after a mid-June practice. “I think we’re really getting a feel for each other, with me and the receivers and the offensive linemen and the tight ends.”

 

Added Bears WR Devin Hester: “I feel like we’re stronger than we have ever been. I feel like we’re going to take the ball up and down the field. That’s the kind of quarterback Jay brings to this team.”

 

A quarterback, it should be noted, who is projected to pave the way to a Super Bowl berth, based on the latest odds posted at The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, where the Bears are suddenly the front-runners, just ahead of the Eagles and Giants from the NFC East, to win the 2009 NFC title.

 

Not everybody is so infatuated with Cutler, as evidenced by the well-circulated offseason critique by respected football figure Tony Dungy that questioned the QB’s maturity and leadership ability.

 

“Some of the things that happened leading to him leaving Denver … that would concern me as a head coach,” said Dungy, the former highly successful head coach of the Colts, who has joined NBC’s “Football Night in America” studio crew. “He can make all the throws, but quarterbacking is much more than just making throws.”

 

Cutler’s response?

 

“I’m fine with everything he said,” he replied. “I haven’t played a game here.”

 

No, he hasn’t. Which is why it seems a bit premature to be talking about Super Bowl aspirations.

 

In what looks to be a very flawed NFC North — with the Vikings waiting for the latest chapter of the Brett Favre saga to unfold, the Packers not looking real comfortable at the moment with their conversion to a 3-4 defense, and the Lions arguably coming off the worst performance in league history — I could see the Bears winning a division title.

 

Barely.

 

But not a Super Bowl. Keeping with this column’s emphasis on Cutler, here are six good reasons:

 

I — Who’s going to catch Cutler’s passes? Bears head coach Lovie Smith continues to say with a straight face that Hester is a “legitimate No. 1 receiver,” but the consensus among daily team observers is that Hester remains a major work in progress. Although he did make some legitimate strides down the stretch last season, Hester’s continuing development could be hindered by a mostly unproven supporting cast, led by second-year pro Earl Bennett. Bennett looks a lot better, but his inability as a third-round rookie to make any kind of an impact at the team’s weakest position last season remains cause for concern. Rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox and veteran Rashied Davis complete a unit that could be keeping Angelo awake well into the night, as he seriously ponders the possibility of adding ex-Giant Plaxico Burress and his impressive 15.5 yards-per-catch career to the mix, the obvious risks nothwithstanding.

 

II — Safety issues hard to ignore. Start with the fact that the Bears’ most experienced safety by a wide margin is newcomer Josh Bullocks, who lost his starting roie in New Orleans last season and was so shaky that he showed up on a YouTube clip demonstrating how not to play the position. The Bears are hoping Corey Graham can make a successful conversion from cornerback to free safety, where his physical style could be well-suited for the position, but such experimentation hardly creates a comfort zone. It’s also worth noting that ’08 starting SS Kevin Payne is coming off shoulder surgery. But perhaps the biggest concern is the leadership at the position, which will be seriously diminished by the departure of Mike Brown, who has moved on to Kansas City. Yes, Brown had big problems staying healthy, but he was almost always effective when he was able to play.

 

III — D-line brittle in the middle. Even Rod Marinelli, the undisputed dean of D-line coaches, could be challenged to the max by a pair of injury-plagued starting tackles — Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek — who are being counted on to exert a great deal more interior pressure up front than they did last season, when the Bears ranked 29th in QB sack percentage. A free-flowing rotation inside, including underrated Anthony Adams, promising second-year pro Marcus Harrison and rookie Jarron Gilbert, could help preserve Harris, whose left knee hasn’t been right since he suffered a grade-2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Week Three two seasons ago, and Dvoracek, who has been sidelined with injuries more often than not in his three years at the pro level.

 

IV — Potential chaos on the corners. The Bears are guaranteed to be nothing more than a passing fancy in ’09 if their pass defense performs as sloppily as it did last season, when it routinely gave up inside position on slant patterns and kept leaving a ridiculous amount of cushion for opposing receivers at the worst possible times. Former Pro Bowler Nate Vasher has greatly underachieved since signing a five-year, $28 million deal before the ’07 season, playing in only 12 of 32 games and intercepting only two passes. He says he’s feeling much healthier, but that remains to be seen. Same goes for fellow starting CB Charles Tillman, who was plagued by injuries to both shoulders last season and was responsible for perhaps the ’08 defense’s low point, when he allowed Bernard Berrian’s 99-yard TD reception in a 34-14 prime-time loss to the Vikings.

 

V — Perilous protection. Cutler’s excellent escapability — he was sacked only 11 times last season — will make him much less of a sack target than Kyle Orton, but the starting tackles in front of him come equipped with noteworthy issues. Granted, OLT Orlando Pace is a distinguished seven-time Pro Bowler who sticks out like the Sears Tower. But he’s also 33 years old and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons due to assorted injuries. At right tackle, former first-round draft pick Chris Williams remains an unproven commodity, having seen limited action in his rookie campaign after suffering a back injury on the second day of training camp that eventually required surgery.

 

VI — Show me the backups. Smith is going to have to pray for the same kind of good luck enjoyed by his good buddy Dungy, who never was forced to get by without Peyton Manning for an extended period of time. Is Smith really serious when he says he would be comfortable with either Brett Basanez or Caleb Hanie taking over under center if, God forbid, Cutler got cut down even for a few games? Those guys make the Cubs’ bullpen look worthy of Cooperstown.

 

 

 

[nfoligno]

I know the initial thought of most is to simply dismiss anything Hub has to say. W/o giving Hub any cred, I thought I would respond anyway. Slow time and all

 

I — Who’s going to catch Cutler’s passes? Bears head coach Lovie Smith continues to say with a straight face that Hester is a “legitimate No. 1 receiver,” but the consensus among daily team observers is that Hester remains a major work in progress. Although he did make some legitimate strides down the stretch last season, Hester’s continuing development could be hindered by a mostly unproven supporting cast, led by second-year pro Earl Bennett. Bennett looks a lot better, but his inability as a third-round rookie to make any kind of an impact at the team’s weakest position last season remains cause for concern. Rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox and veteran Rashied Davis complete a unit that could be keeping Angelo awake well into the night, as he seriously ponders the possibility of adding ex-Giant Plaxico Burress and his impressive 15.5 yards-per-catch career to the mix, the obvious risks nothwithstanding.

 

I love how he does not even mention that we have a pair of TEs, each of which are considered solid weapons, as well as one of the best receiving backs in the league. While I understand Hubs point, which is far from original, at least most others supplement their comments by pointing out the Bears do have a few non-Wrs weapons which are more proven.

 

Honestly, I find it almost a tad amusing. It just was not long ago that so many writers/fans spoke out about how QBs can make WRs. I remember reading so many articles saying our group of WRs would not look so bad, but in combo w/ Orton, it was ugly. Well, we upgraded w/ a pro bowl QB, and suddenly everyone forgets the prior arguments that a great QB makes the WRs so much better.

 

Back to the original point. I get it. We all do. While many would say we have talent at WR, the group as a whole is very unproven. I just think it weak to talk not even mention that we do have two solid TEs and a solid pass catching RB. If we lacked the TEs, and our RB was a pure runner (non receiving threat) the argument about the WR position would mean so much more, but that simply is not the case.

 

II — Safety issues hard to ignore. Start with the fact that the Bears’ most experienced safety by a wide margin is newcomer Josh Bullocks, who lost his starting roie in New Orleans last season and was so shaky that he showed up on a YouTube clip demonstrating how not to play the position. The Bears are hoping Corey Graham can make a successful conversion from cornerback to free safety, where his physical style could be well-suited for the position, but such experimentation hardly creates a comfort zone. It’s also worth noting that ’08 starting SS Kevin Payne is coming off shoulder surgery. But perhaps the biggest concern is the leadership at the position, which will be seriously diminished by the departure of Mike Brown, who has moved on to Kansas City. Yes, Brown had big problems staying healthy, but he was almost always effective when he was able to play.

 

Not too much of an argument here. Safety was one of the very few positions of need which were not seriously addressed in the offseason. Still, if the other pieces fall into place, and I realize that is an "if" statement, I am not sure the FS position will be such a deciding factor.

 

III — D-line brittle in the middle. Even Rod Marinelli, the undisputed dean of D-line coaches, could be challenged to the max by a pair of injury-plagued starting tackles — Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek — who are being counted on to exert a great deal more interior pressure up front than they did last season, when the Bears ranked 29th in QB sack percentage. A free-flowing rotation inside, including underrated Anthony Adams, promising second-year pro Marcus Harrison and rookie Jarron Gilbert, could help preserve Harris, whose left knee hasn’t been right since he suffered a grade-2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Week Three two seasons ago, and Dvoracek, who has been sidelined with injuries more often than not in his three years at the pro level.

 

To me, the entire argument drops a peg or two when it makes out like Dusty is (a) the starter and ( so heavily counted on. Dusty lost his starting job BEFORE his season ending injury last year, and yet Hub makes out like he is an integral piece and a starter. Questioning Harris' health? Fine. But let's not make Dusty out to be more than he is. Dusty is more likely a bubble player than an integral piece.

 

IV — Potential chaos on the corners. The Bears are guaranteed to be nothing more than a passing fancy in ’09 if their pass defense performs as sloppily as it did last season, when it routinely gave up inside position on slant patterns and kept leaving a ridiculous amount of cushion for opposing receivers at the worst possible times. Former Pro Bowler Nate Vasher has greatly underachieved since signing a five-year, $28 million deal before the ’07 season, playing in only 12 of 32 games and intercepting only two passes. He says he’s feeling much healthier, but that remains to be seen. Same goes for fellow starting CB Charles Tillman, who was plagued by injuries to both shoulders last season and was responsible for perhaps the ’08 defense’s low point, when he allowed Bernard Berrian’s 99-yard TD reception in a 34-14 prime-time loss to the Vikings.

 

Yes, both starting corners are coming off injury, and that is a concern. But not one mention of improved depth?

 

V — Perilous protection. Cutler’s excellent escapability — he was sacked only 11 times last season — will make him much less of a sack target than Kyle Orton, but the starting tackles in front of him come equipped with noteworthy issues. Granted, OLT Orlando Pace is a distinguished seven-time Pro Bowler who sticks out like the Sears Tower. But he’s also 33 years old and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons due to assorted injuries. At right tackle, former first-round draft pick Chris Williams remains an unproven commodity, having seen limited action in his rookie campaign after suffering a back injury on the second day of training camp that eventually required surgery.

 

Yes, Pace had issues, but most would agree he is a significant upgrade to St. Clair. And while Williams is unproven, he is also a 1st round pick and many teams rely on unproven, 1st round OTs. Finally, how about mentioning that we also upgraded by adding another starting OG and improved our depth. While I get that the point is to throw out questions, I think it weak to do so w/o evening mentioning all aspects of the unit. There may be questions on the OL, but the OL will also see a significant infuse of upgrades, both starting and in depth.

 

VI — Show me the backups. Smith is going to have to pray for the same kind of good luck enjoyed by his good buddy Dungy, who never was forced to get by without Peyton Manning for an extended period of time. Is Smith really serious when he says he would be comfortable with either Brett Basanez or Caleb Hanie taking over under center if, God forbid, Cutler got cut down even for a few games? Those guys make the Cubs’ bullpen look worthy of Cooperstown.

 

Maybe the weakest argument of all. How many teams w/ an elite pro bowl QB enter the season w/ a great backup? To question the bears on this point is to question most every team in the league. Few teams have a backup plan at QB such that little dropoff would be expected. Further, not even a mention about Cutler's record of health? Come on Hub.

 

At the end of the day, are there questions surrounding the bears heading into the season? Sure. But the same is true of EVERY TEAM in the NFL. Hub takes a glass half empty view and looks at the problems in a worst case scenario, and barely touches on, if at all, the potential offsets to such situations.

[Mongo3451]

Nice rebuttal. I think you missed the key point of his article/commentary. 6 reasons why we won't win the SuperBowl.

 

Now, to make a counterpoint as to why we CAN win the superBowl. You can throw in the TE's and Forte as receivers, as well as our depth at DL and corner.

 

IMO - Hubs argument is valid as to why we won't make it. But he increasingly loses credibility with me through his negativity. He's kinda like Randy Quaid in the "Major League" movies. Big fan, just afraid to show optimism.

[madlithuanian]

Are Hub and Dan the same guy? I'm thinking brothers...

 

But both do appear to be guilty of the same regardless...

 

IMO - Hubs argument is valid as to why we won't make it. But he increasingly loses credibility with me through his negativity. He's kinda like Randy Quaid in the "Major League" movies. Big fan, just afraid to show optimism.

 

[Mongo3451]

Are Hub and Dan the same guy? I'm thinking brothers...

 

But both do appear to be guilty of the same regardless...

I don't know. I was just going off Nfo calling him Hub. You know what they say about assuming...

[madlithuanian]

Looks like they're brothers!

 

http://www.profootballweekly.com/staff/dan-arkush/

 

Apples don't fall too far from the tree!

 

I don't know. I was just going off Nfo calling him Hub. You know what they say about assuming...

 

[BigDaddy]

Hub's had a hard on for the Bears ever since he was whacked from the radio job. I wouldn't pay too much attention to anything these guys say.

[balta1701-A]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to anything these guys say.

Quite frankly, he could easily be right...and he could also be dead wrong. That's the NFL; you can do everything right and sometimes wind up 7-9, and you can make a bunch of mistakes and go 12-4 because someone steps up.

[nfoligno]

I get it, but my point is he at times seems to offer half-truths. How about this.

 

The premise. Bears will have trouble this year. A reason why. They lost their starting QB.

 

Nothing incorrect there, but I would argue it fails to mention a small something, wouldn't you say?

 

He points to the OL has being a "reason why the Bears won't win the SB" but does a fairly weak job in really looking at the OL. And yes, I still have issue w/ the reciver issue. He says we have no WRs, and the implication is no one for Cutler to throw to, but that isn't the whole truth.

 

 

 

Nice rebuttal. I think you missed the key point of his article/commentary. 6 reasons why we won't win the SuperBowl.

 

Now, to make a counterpoint as to why we CAN win the superBowl. You can throw in the TE's and Forte as receivers, as well as our depth at DL and corner.

 

IMO - Hubs argument is valid as to why we won't make it. But he increasingly loses credibility with me through his negativity. He's kinda like Randy Quaid in the "Major League" movies. Big fan, just afraid to show optimism.

 

[defiantgiant]

I thought I'd throw my two cents in, point-by-point:

 

I — Who’s going to catch Cutler’s passes? Bears head coach Lovie Smith continues to say with a straight face that Hester is a “legitimate No. 1 receiver,” but the consensus among daily team observers is that Hester remains a major work in progress. Although he did make some legitimate strides down the stretch last season, Hester’s continuing development could be hindered by a mostly unproven supporting cast, led by second-year pro Earl Bennett. Bennett looks a lot better, but his inability as a third-round rookie to make any kind of an impact at the team’s weakest position last season remains cause for concern. Rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox and veteran Rashied Davis complete a unit that could be keeping Angelo awake well into the night, as he seriously ponders the possibility of adding ex-Giant Plaxico Burress and his impressive 15.5 yards-per-catch career to the mix, the obvious risks nothwithstanding.

 

Valid point as far as Hester goes. Most teams wouldn't be comfortable going into the season with a #1 guy who only caught 51 passes for 665 yards the year prior. However, there's reason to believe Hester will be much better this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit 900 yards. Bennett can't be judged by his zero receptions, since he only got targeted on one pass. The main thing, though, is the way the offense is going to be structured. Trent Green was on ESPN talking about the Bears, and he basically said he thought Greg Olsen was going to be their real #1 receiver. He compared the situation in Chicago to his old teams in Kansas City, and said Tony Gonzalez was the centerpiece of their passing game, and their receivers were all just complementary pieces. I think he's right that the Bears will follow a similar formula, at least for this year. At the end of the day, I think Turner will be able to cover for Hester and Bennett just fine until they come into their own.

 

II — Safety issues hard to ignore. Start with the fact that the Bears’ most experienced safety by a wide margin is newcomer Josh Bullocks, who lost his starting role in New Orleans last season and was so shaky that he showed up on a YouTube clip demonstrating how not to play the position. The Bears are hoping Corey Graham can make a successful conversion from cornerback to free safety, where his physical style could be well-suited for the position, but such experimentation hardly creates a comfort zone. It’s also worth noting that ’08 starting SS Kevin Payne is coming off shoulder surgery. But perhaps the biggest concern is the leadership at the position, which will be seriously diminished by the departure of Mike Brown, who has moved on to Kansas City. Yes, Brown had big problems staying healthy, but he was almost always effective when he was able to play.

 

Another valid point. Corey Graham's transition to safety hasn't gone that smoothly so far, and he hasn't gotten as many reps at the position as you'd like, since he was filling in for Manning at nickel and Tillman at corner. Bullocks is a rebuilding project, and Payne has his weaknesses (poor angles, wrapping up) even when he's not hurt. Steltz looked good last season, but he seems like he'd be stretched at FS, due to his lack of range. From an ability standpoint, the best bet for the Bears might be Graham/Steltz at FS/SS, but that's counting on a big step up from both guys.

 

III — D-line brittle in the middle. Even Rod Marinelli, the undisputed dean of D-line coaches, could be challenged to the max by a pair of injury-plagued starting tackles — Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek — who are being counted on to exert a great deal more interior pressure up front than they did last season, when the Bears ranked 29th in QB sack percentage. A free-flowing rotation inside, including underrated Anthony Adams, promising second-year pro Marcus Harrison and rookie Jarron Gilbert, could help preserve Harris, whose left knee hasn’t been right since he suffered a grade-2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Week Three two seasons ago, and Dvoracek, who has been sidelined with injuries more often than not in his three years at the pro level.

 

Calling Dusty a starting tackle is ridiculous. He lost his job to Anthony Adams last season, and judging from Adams' play as a starter, there's no reason to think Dusty can win it back. With the way Marinelli's been talking up Marcus Harrison, Dusty's looking like a third-string tackle at best. I'm thinking that our rotation is likely to be Adams/Harrison and Harris/Gilbert with Idonije rotating inside sometimes; I don't think you can characterize that group as "brittle."

 

IV — Potential chaos on the corners. The Bears are guaranteed to be nothing more than a passing fancy in ’09 if their pass defense performs as sloppily as it did last season, when it routinely gave up inside position on slant patterns and kept leaving a ridiculous amount of cushion for opposing receivers at the worst possible times. Former Pro Bowler Nate Vasher has greatly underachieved since signing a five-year, $28 million deal before the ’07 season, playing in only 12 of 32 games and intercepting only two passes. He says he’s feeling much healthier, but that remains to be seen. Same goes for fellow starting CB Charles Tillman, who was plagued by injuries to both shoulders last season and was responsible for perhaps the ’08 defense’s low point, when he allowed Bernard Berrian’s 99-yard TD reception in a 34-14 prime-time loss to the Vikings.

 

This is a legitimate problem. Both our starting corners have had major injury problems, and Tampa 2 corners get exposed to a lot more contact than most. Our #3 corner, according to the reports from OTAs, is Zack Bowman, who's had a string of season-ending injuries going back to junior college. Our nickel back, Danieal Manning, was dinged up and had to sit out OTAs. Corey Graham was both physical and pretty durable, but he's been moved to safety, leaving DJ Moore and Trumaine McBride as the only corners without some kind of injury problems. We've got a ton of talent at corner, but we'll be relying on at least some of them staying healthy.

 

V — Perilous protection. Cutler’s excellent escapability — he was sacked only 11 times last season — will make him much less of a sack target than Kyle Orton, but the starting tackles in front of him come equipped with noteworthy issues. Granted, OLT Orlando Pace is a distinguished seven-time Pro Bowler who sticks out like the Sears Tower. But he’s also 33 years old and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons due to assorted injuries. At right tackle, former first-round draft pick Chris Williams remains an unproven commodity, having seen limited action in his rookie campaign after suffering a back injury on the second day of training camp that eventually required surgery.

 

Our protection will be an upgrade over last year's. Period. It will probably not be as good as Cutler's was in Denver, but it won't be the train wreck we saw last year, when we had an soon-to-be-retired John Tait playing right tackle and a career backup protecting Orton's blind side. Even if Williams struggles badly, Shaffer would be an upgrade over Tait's performance from last year, and Pace is a HUGE upgrade from St. Clair. Our o-line may not be elite, but it will be more than serviceable.

 

VI — Show me the backups. Smith is going to have to pray for the same kind of good luck enjoyed by his good buddy Dungy, who never was forced to get by without Peyton Manning for an extended period of time. Is Smith really serious when he says he would be comfortable with either Brett Basanez or Caleb Hanie taking over under center if, God forbid, Cutler got cut down even for a few games? Those guys make the Cubs’ bullpen look worthy of Cooperstown.

 

This has been said in a million places, but almost every team in the NFL is screwed if their starting QB goes down. Would I be more comfortable if we had a veteran backup? Sure. But suppose we ditch Basanez and bring back Brian Griese or somebody...if Cutler goes down, we're still up a creek. The teams that can handle losing a starting QB are the very few that have two guys capable of starting, like the Patriots from last season. And like we saw with Cassel this offseason, starting-quality backups don't stay backups for very long.

[nfoligno]

Valid point as far as Hester goes. Most teams wouldn't be comfortable going into the season with a #1 guy who only caught 51 passes for 665 yards the year prior. However, there's reason to believe Hester will be much better this year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit 900 yards. Bennett can't be judged by his zero receptions, since he only got targeted on one pass. The main thing, though, is the way the offense is going to be structured. Trent Green was on ESPN talking about the Bears, and he basically said he thought Greg Olsen was going to be their real #1 receiver. He compared the situation in Chicago to his old teams in Kansas City, and said Tony Gonzalez was the centerpiece of their passing game, and their receivers were all just complementary pieces. I think he's right that the Bears will follow a similar formula, at least for this year. At the end of the day, I think Turner will be able to cover for Hester and Bennett just fine until they come into their own.

 

Exactly. That is what I have been saying too. To further your/Green's point, Gonzalez was the #1 target, and I would say Priest Holmes was their #2. Not only do we have a TE who is likely a #1 option, but I would point out we have a 2nd TE who will often be high on the list too, not to mention a top tier receiving RB. That's been my point all along. For a team like Az, which focuses on the WRs, our group would be devastating to an offense (in a bad way) but other systems (like KC or SD) simply do not focus so much on the WR, and thus their importance is not as great.

 

Another valid point. Corey Graham's transition to safety hasn't gone that smoothly so far, and he hasn't gotten as many reps at the position as you'd like, since he was filling in for Manning at nickel and Tillman at corner. Bullocks is a rebuilding project, and Payne has his weaknesses (poor angles, wrapping up) even when he's not hurt. Steltz looked good last season, but he seems like he'd be stretched at FS, due to his lack of range. From an ability standpoint, the best bet for the Bears might be Graham/Steltz at FS/SS, but that's counting on a big step up from both guys.

 

I really wonder what the teams 2009 expectations are for Graham. If they expected him to start this year, does it make sense to practice him (for any amount of time) at nickel? To me, that sounds more like they think he may be the 2010 starter at FS, and will be the primary backup nickel this year.

 

Honestly, I am not as concerned about FS as some. I agree it is a hole, but for me, it is all about the pass rush. If the pass rush is solid, I think whoever is playing FS will look good enough. If the pass rush is not there, then I would argue FS is the least of our problems.

 

Calling Dusty a starting tackle is ridiculous. He lost his job to Anthony Adams last season, and judging from Adams' play as a starter, there's no reason to think Dusty can win it back. With the way Marinelli's been talking up Marcus Harrison, Dusty's looking like a third-string tackle at best. I'm thinking that our rotation is likely to be Adams/Harrison and Harris/Gilbert with Idonije rotating inside sometimes; I don't think you can characterize that group as "brittle."

 

Exactly! Dusty is more likely on the bubble this year than a starter w/ high expectations. Questioning Harris' health is legit, but making out like Dusty is a starter who we are relying on is weak.

 

This is a legitimate problem. Both our starting corners have had major injury problems, and Tampa 2 corners get exposed to a lot more contact than most. Our #3 corner, according to the reports from OTAs, is Zack Bowman, who's had a string of season-ending injuries going back to junior college. Our nickel back, Danieal Manning, was dinged up and had to sit out OTAs. Corey Graham was both physical and pretty durable, but he's been moved to safety, leaving DJ Moore and Trumaine McBride as the only corners without some kind of injury problems. We've got a ton of talent at corner, but we'll be relying on at least some of them staying healthy.

 

Yea, health is a concern, but isn't it for most teams. I think the alternative point is that we "seem" to have greater depth than in the past.

 

Our protection will be an upgrade over last year's. Period. It will probably not be as good as Cutler's was in Denver, but it won't be the train wreck we saw last year, when we had an soon-to-be-retired John Tait playing right tackle and a career backup protecting Orton's blind side. Even if Williams struggles badly, Shaffer would be an upgrade over Tait's performance from last year, and Pace is a HUGE upgrade from St. Clair. Our o-line may not be elite, but it will be more than serviceable.

 

Agreed. I question this as being a legit point. While I would agree w/ a statement that our OL is not proven, the reality is, it is an upgrade from last year, and we have also improved our depth. Beekman, a starter last year will be the #1 backup OG this year, and Shaffer, a starting caliber OT, will also be a backup. I just do not see the OL as a weak link this year.

 

This has been said in a million places, but almost every team in the NFL is screwed if their starting QB goes down. Would I be more comfortable if we had a veteran backup? Sure. But suppose we ditch Basanez and bring back Brian Griese or somebody...if Cutler goes down, we're still up a creek. The teams that can handle losing a starting QB are the very few that have two guys capable of starting, like the Patriots from last season. And like we saw with Cassel this offseason, starting-quality backups don't stay backups for very long.

 

Exactly. If we had a Vinny Testerverde or Chandler veteran backup, would our situation really be so much better? This is a weak point IMHO, as it applies to pretty much every team w/ a stud starting QB.