So Far So Good

I can safely say that this year is the first year that I have really followed the Bears off-season activities. And as of now I have no complaints. I agree with D The Dude when he said that a lot of analysts who say that Da Bears have made some bad off-season moves don't really know the Bears.

First off, I agree with signing Rex to a 1-year deal. Whats the worst that can happen? He sucks and he don't come back ever again. I have respected Lovie enough to stick to his guns with Rex , and if we have brought him along this far, why not give him a shot at 1 more year. Not only that, Rex has actually shown some talent over his stint with the Bears. More than Cade McNown or Shane Matthews, to name a couple. I think it is pretty clear that the O-Line is the problem for the Bears. Not only will a solid line give Rex more time to waste in the pocket, but it will also help the struggling running game which will in turn open up the passing game some more. Olin is getting old and can hold the line by himself. It is an obvious issue and I don't think upper management will waste any draft picks.

A lot of analysts are saying that not resigning Bernard was a big mistake for the Bears. I disagree. If it meant saving money not signing him to keep Briggs, I'm all for it. Then loosing Moose to me was also not a big deal. He never really embedded his place as a Bear to me. He did alright, but we all knew he wasn't going to be here forever, so adios. Those two moves left a pretty empty WR core. Yeah we have D the Dude, but honestly, can he be a #1 WR. Look at the other #1s in the league and its clear he just doesn't match up. He is definitely a threat and a challenge for most any DBs, but there were still some issues to address as far as WRs.

Then the Bears decide to make me real happy with the 2 WRs acquired. I am a little biased with these two choices, 1 because I was a huge Book Book fan, and 2 B Lloyd went to the U of Illinois. I had mentioned that the bears needed a big target to go to as a safety on 3rd downs; run a quick out, or a quick slant and not drop the ball. Booker will fill that role nicely. Plus he loves Chicago, likes playing with Rex and is happy to be back overall. B Lloyd will give Rex a good 2nd or 3rd target pending on how much Hester will be a part of the offense. Lloyd was coached by the ever-so-stupid Ron Turner at the U, so this should make his transition a lot smoother than most newbies. This will give Rex options which is what he needs.

I can't wait to see what they do with the draft. Should be a fun year. Lets go Da Bears.

Bears Make Two More Great Moves

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.

LB's Back In It

This has me excited. Briggs running sideline to sideline on the Midway during the prime of his career? Hopefully his body can hold up until age 33, but this is the right move, in my humble opinion.

Thoughts?

Most Bears Fans Don't Actually Watch Bears Games

I don't like watching Bears games in public. One reason is because I have a tendency to cuss a lot during the games. But the main reason is that these "fans" don't even understand what the fuck is going on during the game. I've actually known this for a couple years now, but it's pretty obvious when reading the comments they leave on articles about the Bears. I figure it's because they just started watching in 2006. These are the kinds of "fans" that see a QB get sacked and always blame the QB. Now I'm not saying Rex Grossman has any pocket presence. I'm not saying he hasn't turned normal 3-5 yard sacks into ones that lose 10+ yards. All I'm saying is that these idiots are too brainwashed by journalists on ESPN who don't watch the Bears. Just because Grossman constantly gets bashed by people who are supposed to know the game. Now these writers might know the game, but when they don't live in Chicago they don't watch enough Bears games to actually understand what's going on.

I was blown away by the lack of blame the offensive line got for the Bears misery last year. It was obvious how bad they were from the very start of the season. I'm not going to say the o-line was 100% to blame, but I wouldn't say it was any less than 75%. This leaves 15% for Adam Archuleta and 10% for Ron Turner (these last 2 numbers can be swapped on a game-by-game basis). Archuleta is a skraight bum who doesn't know how to tackle. I doubt he would even be able to make the Duke football team if given the chance. Ron Turner is a joke who doesn't know enough about football to keep the most dangerous player in the league on the field. I understand that Devin Hester didn't know very many plays last year, but you think if you practice ONE play a week with him, you wouldn't have to keep running end-arounds and fake end-arounds (that didn't work a single time all year) every fucking game. Even if they couldn't teach him any new plays, they could have let him go deep on every play and it would have been more effective than the stupid Bears screens they always tried.

But back to my original point: these Bears "fans" just repeat whatever they see on TV without actually letting it get processed by their brains. These are the same people who are still calling for the Bears to trade for McNabb or draft and start a rookie QB and then think that will solve the "problem." NO! The motherfucking problem is the offensive line. It was all of last year, and it would have been this year if they kept the same personnel. Once the o-line gets taken care of (and it will at the draft) then you'll realize that they have been the problem the whole time. Stop repeating everything that you see/hear on ESPN and watch the fucking games!

One last note... what happened to all these people who said they would stop being Bears "fans" if they re-signed Rex? It happened, yet all you people are still doing is bitching. Go root for the packers or something.

Loyalty Rewarded With Securrity

No that's not a typo, you just have to know how to say it. While the Bears have yet to get anything accomplished with their three most coveted upcoming free agents (see Where Do We Go From Here? which, yes, is named after a Yung Berg song that does NOT feature Tony Loco), they have shown their gratitude to Desmond Clark on Sunday in the form of a two-year contract extension. This means that Des will be around at least until 2010. He deserves it for a couple of reasons. First, he has been one of the Bears' more productive receivers over the last few years. Secondly, and more importantly he has been loyal. When the Bears used their first round draft pick on tight end Greg Olsen last year, Des could have seen it as an insult. He could have seen Olsen as a threat to take his position. Instead, he noted the work ethic that Olsen brought to the table and became a mentor to him. Clark has been pivotal to the development of Olsen, and signing this extension means that he will continue to be. Another reason why he wasn't threatened by Olsen is because they are two different kinds of tight ends. Olsen does not have the size that Clark does, but has incredible speed. Because of this, he's not expected to be the greatest blocking tight end. Clark on the other hand, has more size and less speed. While he's not the best blocking tight end in the league, he does a better job clearing some lanes out front for the RB. The combination of Clark and Olsen worked well last year. They were one of only two pairs of TEs to each have over 350 yards receiving. This year they may be one the field together, as the Bears should use some two TE sets. Whether they will both be lining up in on the line, or Olsen is brought out wide to the slot, these two will cause some mismatches. when they're on the field together. With Grossman most likely going to be taking the snaps next year, he will look to get the ball to Clark a decent amount. He has yet to really click with Olsen, but with the Bears returning a solid pair of TEs this year, he should be looking over the middle more often than he has in the past.


The Bears also rewarded the loyalty of Kyle Orton today by signing the neckbearded QB to a one-year extension. Orton could have bitched and moaned by being replaced after going 10-5 as a rookie, but he kept relatively quiet about it. My guess is he realized he didn't actually earn those wins, but rather was along for the ride. Now while I'm not a Kyle Orton fan by any means (I mean he did go to lame ass Purdue), and I'm certainly a big Rex Grossman lobbyist, I think this extension is a good move by the Bears. It lets him know that Bears are serious enough about giving him a chance to be the QB of this team without locking him down in a long-term contract. If Grossman has the year I expect him to, he will be rewarded with the long-term deal, and Orton won't be stuck being a backup past 2009 (unless he's moved into another backup job on a different team). PAB-it-up-arm Brian Greasy is due a decent-sized salary bonus in March, which he doesn't deserve, and will likely be cut by the Bears within the next few days. So if Orton somehow outshines Grossman during camp (fat chance) and goes on to have a solid year, then he will likely be offered a longer extension. Regardless, if Grossman ends up injured again this year, I'd much rather have Neckbeard come in than a guy who looks and acts like Bill Lumbergh.

Where Do We Go From Here?

With free-agency starting this week and the NFL combine coming to a close this past weekend, what are the Bears plans? With Lance Briggs, Bernard Berrian and Brendan Ayanbadejo, all major contributors, facing free agency what are the Bears options? Word is that Jerry Angelo has made all three of them offers, not offers they couldn't refuse and will let them test the market. This doesn't sit too well with me, as Jerry Angelo isn't one to get into a bidding war and all three players are in line to receive more lucrative offers elsewhere. Angelo continues to say the right things, claiming the Bears are still in the mix with all three players. Call it a hunch but I don't see any of the three back next season, I hope I'm mistaken. If these three core players leave, where does it leave the Bears?

Briggs would seem to leave the biggest gap, and its hard to argue that given his production the last few seasons. The Bears may have the best replacement lined up for Briggs in Jamar Williams who showed he can be a very good player in this league when filling in for Briggs and Brian Urlacher at various points last season. Williams is a speedy linebacker that has no problem dropping back into coverage and going sideline to sideline. After replacing the injured Briggs in the Cowboys game last season, Williams recorded 10 tackles.

Ayanbadejo is a menace on special teams and seems to get off on blowing a wedge up or drilling a kick returner. He wants his chance to play linebacker in the NFL but the linebacker position is the biggest logjam on the roster, and he has yet to receive an extended opportunity with the Bears. If the Bears are unable to re-sign Ayanbadejo, I view the loss nearly as large as the potiential loss of Briggs. The special teams unit has been the most consistant, and losing an all-pro player like Brendan Ayanbadejo would be a huge hit.

Berrian is a homerun threat each time he touches the ball and has a very good chemistry with Rex Grossman. As I stated in my last post, losing Berrian would be a hit to the Bears offense but I believe the organization is very confident in Devin Hester and Mark Bradley and may not look to match a larger offer from another team.

The Bears have more pressing needs then what they may loose in free agency. The number one concern for the Bears is the offensive line. Its no secret that the o-line was the biggest reason the Bears couldnt match the success from the '06 campaign. The line got really old, really quickly. Pass rushers could run circles around John Tait and Fred Miller. Ruben Brown and Roberto Garza couldnt knock their mothers off the ball and while Olin Kreutz was his own mean self, he did not perform like in years past. Brown and Miller are out of next years plans and there are immediate holes to fill. G Alan Faneca will be a hot commodity in free agency and the Bears must look his direction. While he is a 10 year vet, he knows how to play the game and seems to have at least a couple more productive seasons infront of him. I believe the organization must select a cornerstone tackle in the first round of this years draft. While the number 1 tackle, Jake Long - Mich, will surely be gone when the Bears are on the clock, the pool of tackles is deep and talented. Jeff Otah - Pitt, Ryan Clady - Boise St, along with G/T Branden Albert - UVA would all make sense for the Bears. The hope is the Bears find a way to get younger and more talented up front. If not, better hope Olin Kreutz starts breaking more jaws.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Last Monday the Bears extended the contract of defensive end Alex Brown through 2010. Brown, who unfairly lost his starting job to Mark Anderson before training camp last year, is such an important part to the Bears run defense. Anderson was named the starter because of his breakout rookie year with 12 sacks in limited time. He also finished 2nd in voting for NFL rookie of the year honors. But there's a reason why he was so successful that year. Alex Brown would be in to stop the run on early downs, and the opponents would be forced to try to move the ball through the air. Anderson is a great pass rusher, because of his speed, but he does not contribute to stopping the run. He is always too deep into the opponents backfield to be effective against the run.

Now Alex Brown could have just gotten salty about being replaced in the starting lineup last year, but instead he took advantage of his opportunities. When Anderson got hurt near the end of the season Brown stepped up and contributed greatly to the defense and proved his worth. This is why Brown needs to be the starter this year since the Bears defense is known for shutting down the run, and he's a big reason why. Now Anderson is a good, young DE but is not on the same level as Alex Brown. The Bears need to have Brown in on the majority of the downs, and rotate Anderson in on passing downs to bring pressure. If Alex Brown is moved back up in the depth charts this year, the Bears defensive line can get back to where they were in 2006. Adewale Ogunleye had a great year in 2007 and with a healthy Tommie Harris this year there is no way the Bears can get embarrassed on the ground like they did by Adrian Peterson and the Vikings last year (AT HOME!). But they just need to make sure that they have Alex Brown as their main guy on the right side and get Anderson in the mix on passing downs.


Lovie Smith told the media on Thursday that he expects safety Mike Brown to be apart of the team in 2008. This is great news! While Brown has been injury plagued the last 4 years, he really is the heart and soul of the defense. When he is on the field, the defense is at the top of their game. He is a true leader on the field, even more so than Urlacher. Not only is he valuable as an on-field coach, but he's also one hell of a player. Last year in the opening game against San Diego, he recorded 4 tackles and an INT before a season ending ACL rupture (when he was tackled while returning the INT). Not only does he put up big numbers, but he plays the game the way it's supposed to be played: with heart. He fought back from an achilles injury in 2004, a calf injury in 2005, a foot injury in 2006, and now this knee injury. Maybe he has bad luck, maybe he's made of glass, but you can never question his heart. When being interviewed last year after the knee injury, you could feel his devastation knowing that he might have played his last game as a Chicago Bear (or even his last career NFL game). You can't help but feel sorry for the guy when he gives his all but just can't seem to have things go his way. Especially when he means so much for the team.

Hopefully he'll be able to bounce back from the injury and return to form. They say you're never the same after blowing out your knee, but even if he's a fraction of what he used to be, he will be extremely valuable to the Bears defense. He brings so much to the table, and I just hope he can stay healthy throughout the season. Not just so the Bears defense will be a dominant force again, but because he deserves it.