Obtainable Free Agent Guards
by Mike Mueller on Feb 16, 2010 4:19 PM CST
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Jeff Dickerson blogs about some possible free agents for the Bears to target. He's left out a lot of big names who will either be franchised or are restricted free agents. Any restricted free agent worth pursuing is not obtainable by the Bears. They have no 1st or 2nd round draft pick to compensate the other team if they were able to sign the restricted free agent to an offer. Simply put, Jahri Evans of the Saints and Logan Mankins of the Patriots are not available to the Bears.
JD's list:
Guard:
Bobbie Williams (RG) -- Cincinnati Bengals
Rex Hadnot (LG/RG) -- Cleveland Browns
Chester Pitts (LG) -- Houston Texans
Stephen Neal (RG) -- New England Patriots
I'm going to take stats from profootballfocus.com and write-ups from footballsfuture.com.
1. Bobbie Williams:
Bobbie Williams, Cincinnati Bengals (33 yrs old)
Bobbie Williams has been one of the league’s most underrated guards, especially as a run blocker. Even at 33, he was good enough to garner a 2nd team All-Pro bid from me. Williams is one of few elite players who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. It would be surprising to see the Bengals let him get to that point without offering him a lucrative extension to stay in Cincinnati for next season.
ProFootballFocus has Bobbie Williams (16 games @ Right Guard) as the 5th best rated Guard for 2009. LINK
As a pass blocker he ranked 11th (Roberto Garza was 8th, Omiyale was 54th, Beekman was 66th). As a run blocker, Bobbie Williams ranked 3rd in the NFL. (Garza 47th, Omiyale 26th, Beekman 32nd).
For Hadnot, Pitts, and Neal; footballsfuture.com did not provide any write-up because they are not as high a quality as some of the premium free agents on their offensive line list. Below is their breakdown from ProFootballFocus:
2. Rex Hadnot: (28 yrs old, 9gms @ RG) 17th overall rank, 33rd pass block rank, 18th run block
Rex hurt a knee in the preseason and missed the first 5 games of the season. He played 15 games in 2008.
3. Chester Pitts: (31 yrs old, 2gms @ LG) injured his right knee:
Pitts underwent surgery to repair the meniscus cartilage and also had microfracture surgery to repair the articular cartilage.
Yeah, let's stay away from mister Pitts please.
4. Stephen Neal: (33 yrs old, 12 gms @ RG) 2nd overall rank, 4th in pass block, 5th in run block
Neal missed time with a head injury and then an ankle injury. There's also this:
Patriots RG Stephen Neal indicated following Sunday's playoff loss that he is considering retirement.
"I’m not sure how my body is going to feel," he said. "I’m not sure if I’ll keep playing, keep getting in them car accidents each week." Neal is still a difference-making run blocker at age 33, but has battled a variety of injuries and failed to play more than 13 games in a season since 2005.
Neal might retire & Pitts had micro-fracture surgery, so I'll scratch those guys off the list.
So what do you guys think of Hadnot &/or Williams? (Wonder what our head of pro personnel thinks?)
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Williams might be a good couple year stop gap
and if it takes Omiyale to RT and he can beat out Shaffer… even better.
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Feb 16, 2010 4:28 PM CST reply actions
Would he:
a.) Come here, and b.) Switch to LG?
Any of these guys, age and injury history considered, is probably an upgrade and conducive to a “win now” plan. I would still like to see what Tice can do with the players we have and look to the draft for the long term guy.
"More cowbell" - Bruce Dickinson
"More bell cow" - Lovie Smith
probably..
prefer williams or hadnot..since either way, supposedly changing guard spots isn’t “too” difficult..unlike asking a RT to play LG :) *cough*omiyale
Wait a second...
I thought we signed a FA guard last year at the beginning of free agency. It was our “big splash.” The guy we wanted all along.
Oh yeah… that was Frank Omiyale. Puke.
"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)
.
Take a pass
With limited options at Guard, I see them switching Omi to RT and then drafting one with their 3rd or 4th round pick.
"The country is full of good coaches. What it takes to win is a bunch of interested players." -Don Coryell, ex-San Diego Chargers Coach
new LG not gonna happen
We’ve got bigger problems to address than LG (FS, DE) and limited draft picks to work with. Throw in the weak/unobtainable crop of LGs listed in this article and you can rule out any changes at LG.
Omiyale was brought in to be our LG, and we already sacrificed the first 1/2 of last season so that he could learn how to play the position. Knowing how stuborn our coaches are (Rex, the Daniel Manning experiment, Benson, Omiyale at LG last year, . . .), does anybody really think that they’re ready to give-up on Omiyale as our LG of the future??
Honestly, I’d be disappointed if we neglected our bigger needs on D in order to focus on a LG. The Offense (including Omiyale) showed improvement towards the end of the season, the Defense showed no signs of improvement.
While LG may not be our most pressing need...
…I think that it may be the direction the team looks to improve in free agency. Think about it. The team invested it’s future in Jay. JA may be more willing to open the checkbook to protect that investment before looking at other needs. And while most top LG free agents may be unobtainable, that’s the case for ALL FREE AGENTS this year. The expiration of the CBA has affected all positions.
What it comes down to is thinking like JA. Which, all joking aside, usually follows a predictable path: Look for FA bargains to plug into problem areas, and draft athletes to fill the rest and hope they can contribute right away. Which means he may go OL, DE, or backup vet WR (to be cut later in camp) in free agency and look for FS and a backup RB in the draft.
In the past, he has used a big FA splash sparingly, so even though my #1 wish would be Peppers, it probably won’t happen. The McCaskey family wouldn’t sign off on such a big contract with so much uncertainty about the team’s future. So that handcuffs him even further. Also, when he tries to acquire top talent, he usually trades picks/players for it, then signs them to a deal. My guess is because he’d rather give up a draft pick than have to outbid other teams for a true FA. Think Cutler, Gaines Adams, Ogunleye.
To add
Typically, JA tends to acquire O-linemen through free-agency, not through the draft. It really depends what they plan on doing with Omi. I think they probably keep him at LG if anyone other than Martz is OC, but with him aboard they need a very athletic RT. Plus it’s much easier to find a guard vs. a right tackle in the draft and free-agency.
"The country is full of good coaches. What it takes to win is a bunch of interested players." -Don Coryell, ex-San Diego Chargers Coach
No problem
This is definitely a bad year for not having a 1st and 2nd rounder. I’m anxious to see what happens, or doesn’t happen come March 7th.
"The country is full of good coaches. What it takes to win is a bunch of interested players." -Don Coryell, ex-San Diego Chargers Coach
Exactly!
I couldn’t agree more. The Bears are best suited moving Omiyale back to his natural position and taking the much easier road of finding a LG. And Angelo does seem more comfortable addressing the line in FA. One point that hasn’t been made, though, is that Tice is also now involved, as well as Martz. Angelo will pay attention to what they want. His and Lovie’s jobs are dependent on their success, and I see Angelo trying to give them whatever they want.
I actually like Hadnot, and would like to see that acquisition. It should be noted that Hadnot was ranked 17th overall amongst guards. Garza was 18th, Beekman was 42nd and Omiyale was 62nd. It should be noted that the overall score takes more into account that run and pass blocking. It also takes into account screen blocking, penalties (Omiyale, BTW, was worst in the league in this stat for guards), and sacks. pressures and hits allowed.
Some days it's not worth chewing through the restraints - T-Train.
Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity. And I am not sure about the universe. - Albert Einstein.
by Timothy Hockemeyer on Feb 17, 2010 8:47 AM CST up reply actions
Omiyale isn't our LG of the future ...
He’s already been benched. Beekman has that spot, no ?
by Irish Bears Fan on Feb 17, 2010 8:50 PM CST up reply actions
What about the Tice factor?
Knowing the Bears, they could very well just stick with what they have and play up the coaching changes (see also: Marinelli). My guess is that Virginia is going to keep the purse pretty much shut this off-season, and, best-case scenario, Tice actually is able to get some improvement out of the o.line.
by Steve Ronkowski on Feb 16, 2010 11:26 PM CST reply actions
How was Garza ranked so low in run blocking...
When the stats showed the Bears averaged 4.5 yards rushing all year to the right side? It doesn’t add up.
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