First I'd like to welcome our newest contributor Eddie Basden (the rest of you aren't contributors until you actually contribute something).
The Bears continue to make big moves this off-season. While many may see the Bears off-season as a disappointment, since they haven't acquired any big name free agents, they have accomplished almost everything that they wanted to. The Bears weren't interested in spending a lot of money bringing free agents in, but rather locking down the free agents that have been a part of the Bears and getting rid of the ones that were just wasting space. They will assess the rest of their pressing needs (OT, WR) during the draft. QB is NOT a pressing need. I do think they need to draft a QB in the later rounds, but once again, you can't say the Bears have a QB problem just because of last year (which is what most people do). The offensive line didn't provide any protection and the lack of QB production can be attributed to them.
Speaking of wastes of space, the Bears pulled off an unthinkable feat today. They traded Brian Griese to the the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for something of value (an undisclosed 2009 draft pick). Now I have absolutely no idea why the Bucs would want Griese back, let alone give something up to get him back, but they did. If they had anything more than shit-for-brains they would have realized that they would have been able to sign him tomorrow, as the Bears were expected to drop him tonight if they weren't able to move him. He was due a $300,000 roster bonus tomorrow, and he certainly didn't deserve it (as he would have been the 3rd or possibly even 4th string QB this year for the Bears). We can sum this transaction up with one letter, a big W!
Not only did the Bears get rid of another aging joke, but they re-signed the free agent that was already written off by most Bears fans. Everybody thought they would be able to close a deal with Benard Berrian and not Lance Briggs, but the opposite has happened. On Saturday the Bears signed Briggs to a 6-year $36 million contract and he is well deserving of it. Even though Brian Urlacher has been the face of the Bears franchise for years, he would not have been so effective if Briggs wasn't alongside him. The tandem of Urlacher and Briggs is the best in the league and will continue to be for years to come. Briggs is the Bears hardest hitter and is great at stopping the run. Last year he had 83 solo tackles and 19 assists, good for second on the team in total tackles. He most likely would have finished first in tackles, but missed two games due to injury. Briggs has been through a lot with the Bears over the years. He was a crucial part of the defense that carried them to the Super Bowl. He threatened to sit-out the entire season last year after being franchised. He escaped a DUI by leaving his Lambo at the scene of a crash. But most importantly he's been able to put aside all of the media distractions and continue to be one of the Bears most consistent performers over the last few years.
On a sidenote, the Bears are expected to start negotiations with Devin Hester for an extension this week.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Bears Make Two More Great Moves
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2 comments:
Thanks for the welcome Devin. Don't you think 6 Mil a year for Briggs is a good deal? I'm actually surprised he settled for that number.
i definitely think 6 mil is a bargain for him. i guess other teams were too scared of his character "issues" with some of the stuff that has happened the last couple years. i think he probably got offers for more money (even though reports are trying to say nobody was calling him), but it wasn't significantly more enough for him to leave the Bears. he knows how much the defense underperformed last year, and how they will be back to the best defense in the league (as long as archuleta is nowhere near the field). like you said, he's in the prime of his career (and his prime can easily last at least a few more years) and him sticking around just solidifies the middle of the field for years.
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