Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I thought it was time for just a little draft talk respite. There is no doubt that the NFL Draft is an exciting team, and Lester's post is a great read if you want to see who the Bears might take through all seven rounds. It's well worth the read.
So I thought I would carry on my little series that I have called Flying Under the Radar, where we examine a member of the Bears roster that might not make weekly headlines, but is worth taking a closer look at.
This time it's Chicago Bears cornerback D.J. Moore.
Can I just admit that D.J Moore is probably one of my favorite players on the team. This opinion was only strengthened after last year's altercation with Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford. See HERE to jog your memory. Moore was ejected from that game for his part in the confrontation and ever since then, I have tried (and failed) to get the twitter hash tag #djmooreshrug to catch on. D.J Moore showed during that sequence that he goes in hard on every play, and also has fun while doing it. Although it's easy to smile as you're thrown off the field if your team has pretty much won the game already.
But there is more to his game than laying the smackdown on Stafford.
D.J. played his college football at Vanderbilt, just like Jay Cutler, Chris Williams and Earl Bennett. It seems the Bears have a thing for Vandy players. I was doing a little research for this piece and discovered what a standout player he was during his time at Vanderbilt.
He played both on offense and defense, and was especially effective as a wide receiver. Obviously, he is purely used in a defensive position at Chicago, but it goes to show how versatile and athletic he is.
Moore was selected by the Bears in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He saw limited playing time during his rookie year, but gradually began to pick up more games the next two seasons. He led the team last year with four interceptions, and finished with 31 tackles.
At 5'9 and 180 lbs, he is a solid and agile cornerback, adept at defending both the run and the pass. He has good reaction speed, able to make a jump on the play. He might find himself a little exposed in one on one coverage, and he will need to improve this if he wants to be featured more heavily on the Bear's defense.
There has been some mention of the Bears taking a cornerback in this year's draft, with the Sun-Time's Sean Jensen looking at some of the prospects here. It seems appropriate to quickly mention that I am a fan of North Alabama's Janoris Jenkins. I think he is an excellent football player with great ball skills. People seem intent on criticising him because he is the father to four children, and likes to smoke marijuana. I think people need to keep sight of what he can do on the field, rather than any mistakes he might have made off it.
But I digress. DJ Moore is a player I would like to see get more playing time, whilst developing as a good NFL cornerback. He is young, and has plenty of time to develop, and I am sure he is picking up lots of good advice from players like Charles Tillman.
To finish, here's a little highlight package of D.J. Moore's 2010 season.