Bridging the Talent Gap: How Much Work Is There?
by Steven Schweickert on Jan 11, 2012 3:06 PM CST
in Roster Analysis
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PrintOne of the key phrases we heard in the firing of Jerry Angelo was that there was a significant talent gap within the division that would have to be made up in order for the Bears to push towards being a championship contender. We know where our draft needs lie, but how does that stack up against our division-mates? And where do the Bears fall behind the most? Follow me past the jump and let's look at our team in the context of the division.
Offense: WR, TE, Backup QB, LT
Halfback, Matt Forte is probably at worst the #2 back in the division, and depending on which Lions fan you ask, Jay Cutler is either the #2 or #3 quarterback in a quarterback-heavy division. But the Bears had arguably the worst backup situation in the division - the Vikings had a serviceable Joe Webb, the Packers have Matt Flynn who in a small sample size looks like he could start elsewhere in the league, and the Lions have Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton, who each had some decent games last year. The Bears are almost assured Caleb Hanie will not be around next season, and Josh McCown had two not incompetent games, but a backup situation next year of McCown and Nathan Enderle would still probably put the Bears last in the division for backup quality.
As far as receiver, pending how much of a believer you are in Johnny Knox or Earl Bennett, you'd be hard pressed to not take the top two receivers in each other division team (save maybe Minnesota) ahead of taking even one Bears' receiver - the Packers with Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson, the Lions with Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson or Titus Young, and the Vikings with at least Percy Harvin. And for Kellen Davis' touchdowns, I'm not sure how many people wouldn't take Jermichael Finley, Brandon Pettigrew or Kyle Rudolph ahead of him. Three first or second rounders there.
Offensive line, compared to the division, the Bears generally might be fine, especially with Tice coordinating an offense he coached his guys for. Left tackle is still a need of magnitude, but relative to the division, it could be a lot worse.
Defense: DT, DE, LB, CB
Defensive line in general is a mismatch in Detroit's favor as a unit, though each team has a dominant pass rusher= the Vikings' Jared Allen and the Bears' Julius Peppers are both great end threats (and don't forget that glorified rush-end Clay Matthews. Pot stirred). That being said, the Vikings as a unit had 50 sacks, tied for the best in the NFL, the Lions had 41 and the Packers had 29. The Bears at 33 are below average, and it looks like yet another pick will need to be spent on a defensive lineman. (Is Angelo still in charge?) Peppers is still excellent, but there isn't another end that can consistently help him - Idonije on occasion but rarely, and Wootton hasn't been able to sniff the field, but when he has, it's been kinda meh. They've gotten quite a bit out of their tackles, especially Henry Melton, but they need more consistent penetration and less flash-in-the-pan-ness.
Linebacker's always been a team strong suit, but Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs aren't getting any younger (something I wrote about when Dane and co. started tolerating my presence on the front page), they spent so much of last season in nickel, Nick Roach and Brian Iwuh haven't been that good when they've been on the field (except Iwuh's special teams play has been fine) and JT Thomas, last year's draft pick, was on IR. What do they have here beyond Urlacher and Briggs? I'm not sure - in a division with a young Clay Matthews, still decent Chad Greenway, and Lions' addition Stephen Tulloch, maybe linebacker is more of a need than we think.
As far as the secondary, for spending so much time in nickel, the Bears rated as the fifth worst passing defense, although Green Bay (worst), Minnesota (7th) and Detroit (11th) all were in the bottom half by traditional pass defense statistics. While the secondary, particularly the second CB, is very much a need, compared to the rest of the division, it's right in line.
Summary:
So compared to the division, the Bears are actually in better shape than we thought. Adding an impact receiver and a backup quarterback should fill in the biggest holes on offense and make up the most ground, and on defense, a second end, a cornerback and additional linebacking depth will further pull the team closer.
What do you think? How much room do the Bears have to make up in terms of talent, and how would you like to see them get there?
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Bears have enough talent to beat their division
Of course, they can use some more pieces here and there. The problem is more game planning and play calling than anything. If Cutler hadn’t went down, Detroit probably wouldn’t have even made it in.
Kellen Moore.
Hear me baby. Hold Together.
Five foot three seems to thrive on his misery...
by awfullyquiet on Jan 11, 2012 4:03 PM CST up reply actions
Wouldn't mind Kellen Moore as the backup
by frenchbears113 on Jan 11, 2012 4:15 PM CST up reply actions
Seriously
I have such a lady-crush on him as a player after watching Boise State games for the past day.
Five foot three seems to thrive on his misery...
by awfullyquiet on Jan 11, 2012 4:51 PM CST up reply actions
Question is...are we really going to draft a backup-qb 3 years in a row?
"With all due respect, and I mean with ALL due respect...that idea ain't worth a velvet paintin' of a whale and a dolphin gettin' it on."
by CurtisEnisFan on Jan 11, 2012 5:58 PM CST up reply actions
We didn't draft Hanie (he was a UDFA).
But, that’s really irrelevant.
Five foot three seems to thrive on his misery...
by awfullyquiet on Jan 11, 2012 9:42 PM CST up reply actions
I like him a lot
but the most important question at this time: can we develop him? Except the Holy Neckbeard, I don’t remember any recent drafted QB that was at least serviceable. There is Sexy Rexy, but for a first round pick he is… slightly underwhelming, to say the least.
If there is someone able to do the job, and if KM falls to the lower third round pick with no other target players around, then why not, Cutler/McCown/Moore seems a good lineup for me.
Rex Grossman is a FA
Imagine the Chi-Love he’d recieve, but seriously Moore would be better than McCown no doubt
i would LOVE
the sex cannon as back up. haha god i love that kissing suzy kolber article
I just want to see him go somewhere where he can start and fling it downfield without any fear of what happens.
Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan
Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Rattlers fan
[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
Leading the NFL in swagtangibles
Offense
Still feels anemic, definitely room there.
1.) WR
2.) LT
3.) Possibly another TE but Davis is servicable
I’m not as concerned for a backup qb McCown seems to be that guy even though we could do better for sure but he seems about what a back up should be if a back up even has a base criteria.
Defense
CB for sure, Saftey even seems sketchy at best which is pathetic be it how we draft their every year Conte looks promising not too sure about Major. DLIne doesnt really stand out as a need right now it doesnt impress me but it doesnt seem that weak. LB yep i’d like to see a solid upgrade there.
What type of TE are we looking for?
Are we going with the Witten/Gonzalez-type, ie a big guy with great hands, decent speed, and good blocking ability
OR
the trending-now Graham/Gronk mold of big, fast, and great hands to create mismatches, if blocking is average at best?
is there even a gronk type
the guy is just a man
Vincent Jackson
Michael Wright tweets that San Diego is set to begin long term contract discussions with him after the Super Bowl.
Wondering how he feels about staying put vs moving teams…
by 75bearsfan on Jan 11, 2012 4:55 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Arrrrgh. That would really suck.
Hopefully their a$$hat GM will screw this up.
by GentlemanJack on Jan 11, 2012 9:06 PM CST up reply actions
San Diego will not place him on the Franchise Tag, though
Some are saying San Diego may let him walk after the war he had with the front office a little over a year ago.
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Jan 11, 2012 11:44 PM CST up reply actions
To me the biggest offensive needs are LT and WR.
In that order. Filling those each with one player of higher quality than the present would be a satisfactory offseason effort in my book.
One tackle and WR.
I think Carimi is a franchise LT. He’s a franchise ANY tackle. Webb is a nice Swing, but not a Starter. Louis can help in a pinch, but he’s a far better G than T.
I think about it this way: Talent gap has been growing for a few years now.
BUT, Lovie (like it or not) has coached (term used ambiguously) this group of players, even with the talent gap, competitively in the division with a few seasons that fell short due in large part to injury.
Think about what the squad would be like if there was no talent gap, and the roster was deep.
"With all due respect, and I mean with ALL due respect...that idea ain't worth a velvet paintin' of a whale and a dolphin gettin' it on."
May be the wrong thread, here but just in case anyone is browsing.
GM search update….@ChicagoBearscom
LM: In search for new GM, #Bears will interview Phil Emery, Jason Licht, Jimmy Raye and Marc Ross.
"With all due respect, and I mean with ALL due respect...that idea ain't worth a velvet paintin' of a whale and a dolphin gettin' it on."
I say...
We pick up either of these two players via free agency if they get away from their current teams;
Manny Lawson – DE/OLB (Bengals)
Tom Zbikiowski – SS (Ravens)
On top of this, we either need to draft a top WR like Malcom Floyd if he drops or aquire one through free agency if someone like Vincent Jackson or Plaxico Buress make their ways to the pool. Desean Jackson would be an interesting prospect if the Eagles organization decide to part ways with him. Beyound that, we need to find a new LT to shore up our O-line troubles.
We're getting ahead of ourselves
First we need the guy who’s going to make these decisions. Colts hired their new GM today. Have the Bears even interviewed candidates yet? I’m forced to yield when my Colts fan buddies in Indy claim they have the better organization and owner. Even with a 2 and 14 record. (They lost their qb before we did). I hope there’s more going on behind the scenes…
On offense...
the Bears need a real NFL starter at LT and probably C or G. Add to that 2 (yes 2) starting caliber WRs to add to Bennett and occasional Hester. Knox (assuming he can come back and play) is better as trade bait than anything else. A real pass catching TE and a back-up QB. That’s 4-6 guys on offense to be more than just adequate.
On to defense, the d-line (outside of Peppers) is mediocre. Izzy and Melton and Toeaina and Adams are just back-ups. The Bears need a stud DT and a stud DE to have the kind of starters they need and use the current roster as rotational support. Briggs and Urlacher are great, and there is not a single LB that has any business starting in the NFL after that. AT CB, Tillman is good and Jennings, Moore, and Graham are back-ups. The safeties are like most other positions, meh at best. That sets up 2 starters at D-linemen, 1 (or 2)starter LB, 1 starting CB, and one starting caliber safety (perhaps 2 depending on how Conte pans out). Again 4-6 starting caliber players.
At best the Bears can hit on 1-3 FAs and 1-4 draft picks. That’s 7 of 8 at best and 2 of 12 at worst. I guess it’s possible the Bears can right their talent gap, but it’s not very likely. The reason the talent gap is important is that Lovie is just not a tactical coach. He’s a teacher/organizer/coordinator and, while his players seem to like playing for him, he’s not capable of out scheming any coach. Lovie is a system guy, that’s it. If the system is staffed with good players that remain uninjured, he will have success. If not, he’s proven he’s incapable of overcoming such adversity. So that’s the talent gap. IMO, Lovie has 1 season to get the players he needs and get the Bears into the playoffs. I suspect next year will be a very long, protracted argument against having kept Lovie this offseason.
There's a fine line between stupid...and clever!
Everything starts with the line (offense and defense)
For defense I don’t care if we have 3 foot midgets playing CB in our Cover 2 Scheme, our D-Linemen (specifically the DTs) just get swept up and barely generate any pass pressure. Run-Blocking is still decent with Adams and Toenia coming in but we need a pass rusher a Pierre-Paul kind of guy but our drafts have sucked so ye we’ll see..
LB: Ye we need younger guys lets just take the Alabama LBs problem solved lol
S: Wright is too fragile, Conte will be pretty good, but we need a playmaker here right away, an Eric Berry type guy.
WR: Deep draft for this, but I’d like the Bears to strike early and try to get that guy they desperately need
LT: Idk about Webb hbu guys? I think Tice is fine with him for now, I’ll give him another year.
Lots of good receiving talent in this draft.
I say go BPA unless Blackmon drops somehow… Then I say sell the farm.
by GentlemanJack on Jan 11, 2012 8:58 PM CST up reply actions
i disagree on QB
Jay Cutler is better and can do more than Rodgers. the difference in the stats being the tools and scheme Rodgers and has vs what Jay has to work with.
put Jay on the packers for a season, and you’ll see the difference between them. and Rodgers is pretty damn good.
by ChicagoBearOfAnaheim on Jan 11, 2012 10:47 PM CST reply actions
Um, Rodgers in the red zone for the past 2-3 yrs has....
67 TDs and 1 Int. ONE interception! I love Jay and he’s definitely the MVP of the team but Rodgers simply doesn’t make mistakes and will win league MVP. Till Jay eliminates some of the careless picks (Which he has done the last two yrs), Rodgers is the #1 QB in this division.
I'm as big a Jay Cutler homer as anyone but that is not an accurate statement my friend.
Talent-wise, like arm strength and scrambling ability, yes Cutler has better tools than Rodgers. But Rodgers is a smarter and craftier QB, who also happens to have a good arm and scrambling ability. I agree that Cutler would be beastly on the Packers but right now there is no way anyone would agree with your statement.
by frenchbears113 on Jan 12, 2012 10:35 AM CST up reply actions
JaMarcus Russell would beast on the Packers right now
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[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
Leading the NFL in swagtangibles
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