http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/...tribune-ad.html

 

And thank you Tommie for the good years! Maybe you be remembered for the good, and may we forget the bad over a few beers!

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/...tribune-ad.html

 

And thank you Tommie for the good years! Maybe you be remembered for the good, and may we forget the bad over a few beers!

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?

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?

 

I like that Melton is bigger and still athletic enough to potentially excel as a 3-technique guy, but my problem is that the way Lovie's system works is frustrating explicitly because he picks 3-technique guys. Unless that DT is Warren Sapp or early Tommie Harris, the result is a guy who shoots the B-Gap and gets pushed wide...right along with the DEs who are wide of the OT on 98% of the plays in this scheme. Hence, what we have seen far too often with the Bears' defense under Lovie Smith, the opposing QB has a comfortable pocket to step up into and complete short and mid-range passes over and over and over again.

 

I don't mind the 3-technique guys; I just wish Lovie and crew would make it a more balanced mix - along with various stunts - one that has more 1 and 2 gap responsibilities.