Offseason

by mike b on Dec 7, 2007 3:25 AM CST

This is going to be pretty negative, but I have been all year and I have been pretty much dead on so too bad.

My major concerns are:

O line
Safety

Other big concerns being:
QB, DT, LB, WR and RB.

I think we are set at corner and TE.

DT: If the Dusty that we saw in the first half of the SD game is the real Dusty I am very excited, he brought energy and played well. Of course cheap depth would be nice, but I think adams and walker would be fine rotation partners. I think we are probably set here, just want to see more of Dusty. SIT TOMMIE NOW.

DE: If we keep Alex Brown starting and Anderson coming in on third I think we can be fine, Anderson is not ready to play the run and Brown has played well when he is in there. Wale is having the year we've wanted him to have for a long time.

LB: I don't think Briggs is a "because of Urlacher" guy. In fact I think he will be a Mike backer here in a couple years. Haven't seen much of Williams, maybe he can compete with Hillenmeyer next year, who seems to be very up and down. If Brian's days at Mike are numbered, maybe its time for him to be back outside or, if the wheels are still there, back to SS. I think that would have to be a slow transition, a LB crew of Briggs, the Hunter and Williams would be rough.

Safety: our second biggest concern imo. If mike brown comes back cheap, great; if not I think we draft the biggest bad ass we can, and sign some chris harris (not great or all that smart but can hit) types to add some depth. I am not sure what Daniel will end up being, without seeing better film on his coverage all I know is his tackling is piss poor. Either way we need depth, and maybe we can be grooming the next mike brown before he signs on as secondary coach.

Offensive line: Christ almighty. I have no idea how many guys we need to make it work, 2, 3 or 5. I don't think you can realistically expect to pick up more than 3, maybe sign 2 and draft 1. Pick up two new tackles somehow and maybe beekman is ready. Three new linemen may very well be enough. This is by far the most important need; literally the entire team will get better from this improvement.

RB: with a better line we can roll with what we have, although I have doubts about Benson's dedication to become a better blocker. I think AP can push him, and as some have said Michael Turner would definitely push him. AP and Wolfe would be fine as S.T. and occasional backs in that case.
WR: I don't think berrian is worth big money right now, but he could be soon. I don't remember a drops problem last year, so I actually believe that could go away. Moose has always dropped too many balls imo, and he isn't getting any faster. Wish we could see more of Bradley, others are high on him, and he could really help. I think we need to pick up a legit top 20 guy, because I don't think we have one now. A lot of that is because of the entire o situation, but they have certainly hurt themselves with drops this year.

QB: I've talked enough about Grossman lately. We have a lot of other holes that if filled could help him quite a bit. He has looked slightly less moronic lately. I am not crazy about any of the kids in the draft, and to be honest it seems like you have to be lucky any more. Sign Rex cheap and draft a qb next year. Fix all the other problems and then be happy he is the weakest link again. If he wants too much money, solve the other problems and role with Neckbeard. I wouldn't give up anything to get any other qb's unless you have somehow managed to get everything else right.

I want a better kicker.

If Hester never plays offense again I will live. We don't have the right OC anyway. More on that later.

So, to recap:

Sign/draft oline and safety first.
Sign briggs
RB/WR upgrades
And depth, depth, depth as much as you can.

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Comments

Agree mostly

I think you're right in most points.

QB: I agree that Grossman is the best option given the FA market. If he is injured I'd love to see what Orton could do in a spread style offense with Berrian, Bradley, Hester, Olsen, and Wolfe.

RB: Benson's not going anywhere, AP is serviceable as a backup, and Wolfe showed last night he's more exciting on the field than the other two put together. Also just in, Wolfe up the middle behind no blocking works just as lousy as CB/AP

TE: Agree with above

WR: We have to sign Berrian, even if we overpay. In fact I think we'll have to overpay to keep him, just like the baseball SP market. I'm not sure if Angelo will do that. Muhsin is fine, not great or even good, but dumping him would rid the team of 75% of it's combined NFL service time. He makes tough catches (but drops easy ones) and goes fearlessly over the middle. Bradley, Hester, Davis would all be better with a real OC

OL: I posted this in another thread, but I think you get the best LT money can buy and move Tait to RT, his position with KC. I would do another 1 yr deal with Ruben Brown at LG, but he may not be interested. Metcalf cannot be the starter - he is not good. Hurry up, Beekman. I think these two spots cure the biggest offensive line problems

DE: I agree with the above. Start Brown and Anderson is a pass rusher. Idonije is a great 4th DE.

DT: I agree with the above. Shelf Tommie and let him get healthy. Tommie/Dusty/Adams/Walker/Garay is solid.

LB: Briggs must be back. I also wondered if he would slide to MLB. Either way he needs to be here because Urlacher seems to only have 1-2 more seasons in him with the chronic arthritic back. They have a lot of young LB depth that could turn out well, Williams, Wilson, Okwo

CB: Most stable & deep position if Vasher decides to lace up again. Ricky Manning may be expendable with McBride's solid play

FS: Goodbye Mike Brown. Manning needs a coach to be a starting FS, but he has all the physical tools. If you can't coach him get someone who can play in space

SS: Goodbye Archuleta (or get the hell out). He sucks. McGowan is just a hard hitter, not a good tackler. No really great options here now.

Resign:
Berrian
Briggs
Rex

Dump:
Archuleta
M Brown
F Miller
Metcalf

Acquire:
Offensive Coordinator
LT
LG
SS
FS or Secondary Coach
Explosive players at: WR, RB if possible

When they boo you, you know they mean you. George Halas

by allhailmark on Dec 7, 2007 5:12 AM CST reply actions

Mine:

With you on QB, OL, TE, and WR. With a decent offensive line, I'd be optimistic about our running game. I hope Wolfe gets a lot more play time the next few games - he was fun to watch last night, and there weren't nothin' fun to watch about last night. I still question his potential as a starter, but as a specialty back, I like him (when can we get him on returns as the short man alongside Hester? He's faster than Davis). But that said, I like what I've seen from Peterson this year, and I still believe that Benson has the potential to be a star (maybe less so with a plate in his ankle) if the line and the play-calling allow them the chance to run. I don't see RB as a serious need, unless Benson's injury brings back the timidity that marked the first half of the season.

I do think we have to keep Berrian, and Moose will just hang around the league for another year or so, and if there's any chance to have Hester work as a wide receiver, keeping him around for Hester to learn from seems like a good idea.

Agree mostly on defense, too. I think McGowan's young and aggressive and could learn to be a better tackler - he's got the tools for it.

You guys really think Mike Brown's done?

I would be okay with trading Ricky Manning. McBride's shown up consistently.

Any thoughts on moving Hester back to defense? I liked the drive where he was really active last night, and the way it kept the defense on their toes, but obviously casting him as a wide receiver hasn't turned out like gangbusters. He prefers playing defense, understands it, and he pushed hard to make that tackle on Griese's first interception.

--d

by itsugly on Dec 7, 2007 6:27 AM CST up reply actions

Just Embarassing

I posted this on another thread but I think it is a better fir here:

Just Embarassing
Like mike B says I think the change is the defence this year in terms of scheme was noticeable. Last year and even the previous 2 years we seemed to be much better at creating confusion and disorientation in the QB and OL and thus having free runners at the QB. Our blitzes fooled no one this year.

Getting picked apart by Collins is just embarassing, Cooley having such a big game when you have a couple of smurfs, one of whom as basically a broken foot, at WR is just embarassing.

1st and Goal at the 1 and getting stopped for a 3 yard loss, Metclaf what F**k are you doing out there? The OL is just awful, but we actually did well in pass protection if we were able to avoid a delay of game or false start.

I'm just so furious right, as Alex Brown said never in a million years did I think our season would be over in early December, now I want to point out guys who absolutely have to go (some guys ai Ma not mentioning we are stuck with such as "3 yards and a cloud of dust" Benson:

QB
Griese: good QB to have as a backup on a contender but with our QB situation in limbo I don't want him coming up in the conversation for next year, I really question given his arm strength and propensity for INTs for TDs whether he is good enough to get a team to the playoff. Just cut the salary.

OL
Fred "False Start" Miller
Metcalf - he has basically helped to cost us 2 legitimate shots at TDs tyhe last couple of weeks with his unsportsmanlike last week, and his missed assignment this week. Can we see what Beekman can do at least this year?

WR
Moose - I was glad he brang it most nights, and admired his toiughness but his cap number is not justified by his production

DL:
Walker: Again cap number for next year not justified by production.

LB:
Hillenmeyer: We just need someone more athletic if we are going to ask them to go 1-on1 on the outside against good TEs (i.e Broncos game against Scheffler); anyways that is just atrocious scheming by the DC but still if that is what we want our LB to do he is not the guy to do it.

DB:
Archuleta: Just writing his name makes me angry; how many times this year have you heard "how many Bears had a shot at him" and see the replay and Archuleta is prominently involved.

Danieal Manning: I just don't think he will be a good safety or corner in the league. His tackling has been abysmal. When a guy is running down the field for a touchdonw do not try to pucnh the ball out as first priority, particularly when he is on the sidelines and you can easily shove him out!

Thin Ice

Grossman: Add this latest injury to everything else and is there any reason outside of his recent play for this merry go round to continue.

Tait and Garza: both have been beter than the guys mentioned above, but both have had subpar years. I really don;t know how we are going to address the OL.

Davis: Only contribution has been made on special teams this year. And I realize maybe that Bradley and Hester don;t have the skills to play the slot position but did he make any impact this year in that role.

Bradley: I like him but unfortunately the coaches don't and he has hardly seen the field despite flashes. I really hope we don't let him walk and he becomes productive elsewhere.

Manning Jr: Roasted when he got a shot against Denver. Do we really want to pay this money at nickelback. Secondly, does everyone else have a problem with how our defensive scheme does not allow the CBs to be interchangeable. Wasn;t that a big problem two years ago when Steve Smith roasted us?

BIG QUESTIONS:

Berrian: I think he has done enough to get a decent contract from us provided we are not in a bidding war. Maddeningly inconsistent but his flashes are incredible!

Tommie: Great when healthy but can we justify a huge deal when a guy is 100% for half the year at most. I am worried that these types of injuries for a guy his age will just plag him.

Briggs: I say sign him, Urlacher is on the downside and we need to have good LBs for this D.

Urlacher: I hate to bring him up but if he has a bad year next year we need to consider what to do. In the NFL you need to be cutthroat a la Philadelphia sometimes to keep a winning organization going. The production simply has to improve, and I am not sure if next year is the last year of his prime, unles we have already seen that.

Mike Brown: This is a guy I love! I can;t say how much this guy has meant to the Bears over the years, but he is just cursed. Anyways with our luck we will rerlease him, belichick will sign him as a replacement for Harrison and he will be winning Super Bowls the next couple of years. But I see no other option here than letting him go.

Coaching Staff
Babich and Turner need to be reevaluated, Thomas Jones was calling out Turner's playcalling the last couple of years. I think it has gotten better but still nothing innovative.
Babich was a creation of Lovie's ego in thinking that Rivera had nothing to do with the BEars success. As stated above we had a much more innovative defence before, it was part Cover 2, part 46, and part Jim Johnson Philly Stuff. Not anymore.

I have mentioned a lot of guys here, but I think the problems run deep with this team.

Anyways I had to get this out so could concentrate on work today.

by twaddle on Dec 7, 2007 9:28 AM CST reply actions

My thoughts is that both our lines need addressing

While Dusty might be a good defensive tackle we must remember that both years he has been injured. Now Tommie has been injured for the last two years and I think it's time we quit counting on injured players. We need to address the Defensive tackle position.

Our offensive line sucks and who knows where to start with that position. None of these guys are rookies and not only can they not block or create holes, they also have a knack for false starts.

Besides safety we also need help at cornerback, hopefully Vasher will come back strong but then again we would be counting on an injured player.

We need another running back because not only will Benson be coming back from an injury he has no heart is selfish and he sucks.

On the QB front I think one of the three need to be replaced. Griese should be the odd man out if the Bears give Orten the chance to prove that he can at least be the number two QB. Grossman has played better since his demotion but I still don't think he our answer but at least he has an NFL arm.

So Jerry is going to need a lot of luck and a sprinkle of pixie dust to put Humpty dumpty back together again.

by beardown on Dec 8, 2007 6:13 AM CST reply actions

Disagree on d-line

Too many other holes that need to be filled by legitimate starters to get "insurance guys". It'd be nice if everything but the d-line was fine, and they could go after the d-line help, but they did that last year.

While there may be d-line concerns, it's faaaaar down on the list.

by tyger1147 on Dec 10, 2007 6:40 PM CST up reply actions