NightLink: Jerry Angelo Discusses the Draft
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Oct 14, 2009 4:30 PM CDT
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PrintOver on chicagobears.com Larry Mayer had his usual Wednesday one on one with Bears GM Jerry Angelo. This weeks topic; Prepping for NFL Draft an ongoing process for Angelo.
Angelo's drafting success, or lack thereof (depending on your view) is always a popular topic. After the jump some highlights of the sit down...
JA and his staff are scouting year round and on a daily basis.
We create the base for a player coming into the draft by watching his junior year, and then seeing the development that he made during his senior year. Some players get hurt when they're seniors, so you have to rely on their junior-year tape. In some cases there's been a coaching change, meaning a scheme change. So you have to recognize how the player performed in one scheme and how he's now doing in another. It has a lot of different purposes, but when you're doing a two-year study on a player, it takes time. That's why I say it's a year-round job.So whatever time permits during my day, I'll do as much as I can. Some days I'm able to do more than others depending on what's going on. I probably spend a few hours a day watching tape, and I try to continue that habit throughout the year because, like I said, it's an ongoing process.
I wonder what they do when an early entry candidate elects to enter the draft? Do they go back and look at Sophomore year tape?
When asked what regions he personally scouts his answer surprised me...
I focus on the Midwest, which encompasses the Big Ten and the Mid-American [Conferences]. I'll try to do the Big 12 North and also teams like Cincinnati and Kentucky. Then I'll try to do the west coast-all the Pac 10 and the WAC. That's my base for the year. And then once we determine our needs at the end of the year, I watch the positions of need in the other areas.
Isn't the best football played down south? The SEC seems to be the breeding ground for many of the elite athletes entering the NFL, I'd think the GM would look at these areas first.
He goes on to explain what he looks for when watching tape and how they look at a players character. It's an interesting read for sure.
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His answers for what regions he mainly scout at doesn't surprise me
I feel he’s one of the best G.M. at finding late round gems.
by Dominique Blanton on Oct 14, 2009 5:39 PM CDT reply actions
I'd rather lose out late
than lose out early. He should be doing his best work in the first round, where the margin for error is smallest.
Metal sharpens metal.
And this guy right here understands and knows what leadership is all about: The coach, the hall of famer......... Dick Butka! George Ryan
+1
Plus… his “late round gems” are reaching mega proportions from bear fans re-writing history.
He’s selected 36 players in rounds 5-7 (the “late” rounds of a 7 round draft). Only 3 of them (Justin Gage, Bobby Wade and Chris Harris) have held a starting job in the NFL for more than two seasons.
I don’t know about you… but a late round gem to me, means you found an NFL starter… not a bunch of roster fill, backups, and special teams guys.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
by SackMan on Oct 14, 2009 6:09 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
We might be able to hit
on a 1st rounder, if he scouted the SEC
"I'm sorry Josh, I'm with Chicago now, you need to stop calling me" -JerBear50 as Jay Cutler
by BearNecessities on Oct 14, 2009 5:42 PM CDT reply actions
He drafted 5 Florida Gators in his 1st two drafts.
Unfortunately, the only worth a crud was Alex Brown.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
I dont mean to defend him
but we probably busted on the gator picks, because he doesnt scout there
"I'm sorry Josh, I'm with Chicago now, you need to stop calling me" -JerBear50 as Jay Cutler
by BearNecessities on Oct 14, 2009 6:16 PM CDT up reply actions
He can't scout the entire US.
He scouts the Midwest, and stays somewhat close his job at Halas Hall. He’s got a payroll of scouts who cover other regions. And, when there is a player high on a particular scout’s list, he probably focuses on watching film of that player. That’s just how it works…. in all professional sports.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
Well...
…he had a good chunk of guys in the 2008 draft that came from SEC schools, not including Matt Forte, who played in Louisiana.
But one thing that leaps out at me is how, especially over the last several years, he likes to draft a lot of guys from Oklahoma and Texas, which are Big 12 South programs. In his regime, he drafted Tommie Harris, Cedric Benson, Nathan Vasher, Dusty Dvoracek, Mark Bradley, Juaquin Iglesias, Henry Melton, and J.D. Runnels. Last year, he also had a thing for players at SEC schools.
Draft Mythology
Bill Belichick & Scott Pioli are often thought of as ‘draft day geniuses.’
Not exactly.
In the four years 2005 2006, 2007, 2008 this is their results:
All four first rounders are still on the team (Logan Mankins, Laurence Maroney, Brandon Meriweather and Jarod Mayo).
Beyond the first rounders we get these players still on the team:
2005: One player (James Sanders – 4th round).
2006: One player (Stephen Gostkowski – 4th round).
2007: Zero Players.
2008: Three players (Terrence Wheatley – 2nd round. Jonathan Wilhite – 4th round. Matt Slater – 5th round).
Five players (outside of first rounders) on their team from four recent draft classes.
Not exactly a ‘gold standard’ for drafting.
By contrast the Bears (from 2005 - 2008)
Have these players:
Danieal Manning
Devin Hester
Jamar Williams
Mark Anderson
Greg Olsen
Garrett Wolfe
Josh Beekman
Kevin Payne
Chris Williams
Matt Forte
Earl Bennett
Marcus Harrison
Craig Steltz
Zack Bowman
Kellen Davis
Also in 2005, they traded their 3rd round pick along with marty Booker for Ogunleye (for what it’s worth).
Yes... the Bears fill the bottom half of their roster with draftees.
But, the top half of their roster leaves much to be desired when it comes to the draft, because they fail way too often in the 1st and 2nd rounds.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
Bottom half of the roster?
I count 7 or 8 current starters in that list, depending on the safety merri-go-round:
Hester
Olsen
Williams
Forte
Bennett
Bowman
Manning/Payne
I don't know about you... but I never put draft excellence and New England together.
The Colts, Ravens, and to a lesser extent the Chargers, are the 3 teams that continually excel in finding true impact players in the draft. The draft record shows the results. That’s the competitive advantage of those 3 teams.
New England also has a competitive advantage… but it’s not the draft. It’s their superior coaching and management of veterans in free agency.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
Giants are the best at drafting imo
by Ryan21 on Oct 15, 2009 5:41 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
He's Not a Scout, He's the Boss
What do we care where he personally scouts? He’s the GM. He is supposed to hire expert scouts capable of judging football talent and delegating to them the responsibility for these choices. Based on some of their high picks in the last 8 or 10 years, Jerry hasn’t been employing the right people. Of course that is of no consequence because there is a long line of applicants for seat licenses, and that is all that really matters.
And as it has been made painfully clear to me by the major voices and opinion leaders here at WCG, we don’t need no first round picks because the Bears are wizards at rehabbing also-rans and they don’t know what to do with them anyway. Apparently unlike any other NFL team, first rounders are pretty much worthless to the Bears.
Pure Ignorance Bearonco (as usual).
There is a concept in the NFL that goes something like this: (The talent level in the NFL is pretty evenly divided, with the exception being the QB position). That’s common knowledge.
Any cursory look at the players drafted (and on the Patriot roster) in the years from 2005-2008 and those of the Bears pretty much ‘bears’ that out (pun intended).
Most people (myself included) would take the picks from the Bears over those of New England in those four years.
The DIFFERENCE, at the NFL level, is SIMPLY this: Does your team (and your HC and his staff) get the very MOST/BEST out of his players (through ‘motivation’ and ‘scheme’)?
It’s that simple.
All anyone needs to do to understand that is look to San Francisco where ex-Bear Mike Singletary does JUST that.
Coaching virtually the same squad of underachievers that piled up losing season after losing season and helped get Mike Nolan fired, Mike Singletary, almost universally in NFL circles, is considered to be the type of HC to get the very most out of the players on his team.
That . . . is the difference in the NFL.
Two HC’s (Norv Turner & Wade Phillips) have two of the most talented squads in the NFL, and yet routinely underachieve with their squads. Why? Because they are excellent coordinators and TERRIBLE HC’s.
And you have young coaches (like Mike Singletary & Josh McDaniels among others) that take over underachieving teams and get them to play much better than they have before.
That’s the BIG difference in the NFL, not in ‘who you draft.’
That's true about the talent that Turner and Phillips have
If Singletary was the coach in Dallas, they’d be Super Bowl contenders.
Absolutely
Which is why Jerry Jones must be sick over the fact that he interviewed Singletary a few years ago and yet instead went with Wade.
I doubt that marriage would have survived very long...
Jones has to have his hands in everything and his face in front of the camera more than anyone else in his organization. That’s the reason the Parcells experiment never worked to the point it should have. Jones, like Snyder in Washington, and now Davis in Oakland are cancers to their own teams. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, the owners will find a way to screw it up for them.
He does MAC teams?!
Maybe I’ll run into him in the press box at this weekend’s Ball State-Bowling Green game. A couple of players in that game are worthy of checking out for draft purposes (BGSU’s WR Freddie Barnes and QB Tyler Sheehan) I’ll be all, “Hey JA, how’s it going, want any pictures of these guys? Can I have a job?” (In reality I’d probably be too scared to talk to him and there is no chance he’s in Muncie)
by Sam Householder on Oct 15, 2009 2:20 PM CDT reply actions
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